






Book _ t / y 7 .'~ 



























THE SPELL OF NORWAY 





THE SPELL SERIES 


Each volume with one or more colored plates and 
many illustrations from original drawings or special 
photographs. Octavo, decorative cover, gilt top, boxed. 

Per volume, $3.75 

By Isabel Anderson 

THE SPELL OF BELGIUM 
THE SPELL OF JAPAN 

THE SPELL OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND 
THE PHILIPPINES 

By Caroline Atwater Mason 

THE SPELL OF ITALY 

THE SPELL OF SOUTHERN SHORES 

THE SPELL OF FRANCE 

By Archie Bell 

THE SPELL OF CHINA 
THE SPELL OF EGYPT 
THE SPELL OF THE HOLY LAND 

By Keith Clark 

THE SPELL OF SPAIN 
THE SPELL OF SCOTLAND 

By W. D. McCrackan 

THE SPELL OF TYROL 

THE SPELL OF THE ITALIAN LAKES 

By Edward Neville Vose 

THE SPELL OF FLANDERS 

By Burton E. Stevenson 

THE SPELL OF HOLLAND 

By Julia DeW. Addison 

THE SPELL OF ENGLAND 

By Nathan Haskell Dole 

THE SPELL OF SWITZERLAND 

By Frank Roy Fraprif. 

THE SPELL OF THE RHINE 

By Andre HaLLAYS (Translated by Frank Roy Fraprie) 

THE SPELL OF ALSACE 

THE SPELL OF THE HEART OF FRANCE 
THE SPELL OF PROVENCE 

By Will S. Monroe 

THE SPELL OF SICILY 
THE SPELL OF NORWAY 


L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 

(incorporated) 

53 Beacon Street Boston, Mass. 


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Spell 0 /Norway 


3)Y 

Will S. Monroe , A.B., PhD . 

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JlulhoT of 

" e Uhe Spell of Sicily, " " (Bulgaria and Her 
‘People," ",‘Bohemia and the Czechsetc. 



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Copyright, 1908 
By L. C. Page & Company 
(incorporated) 


All rights reserved 


Made in U. S. A. 

First Impression, September, 1908 
New Edition, August, 1923 


PRINTED BY C. H. SIMONDS COMPANY 
BOSTON, MASS., U. S. A. 



DEDICATED TO 

GT&e JHcmorp of JHp fftotfoer 


PUBLISHER’S NOTE 


This book was originally published under the 
title, “In Viking Land,” and under that title 
has been recognized not only as a concise 
and authoritative account of the history and 
people of Norway, but as a book fascinating in 
style and unusual in charm and appeal. 

It is for this reason that, in issuing this new 
edition in response to the public demand, the 
publishers have selected the more appropriate 
title, “The Spell of Norway,” and included 
the book in the popular Spell Series of books 
of travel and description. 



PREFACE 


The present work is the result of two vaca¬ 
tion trips to Norway and rather wide reading 
of the extensive literature of the country. 
The author’s aim has been to give prospective 
tourists some notion of the benefits to be de¬ 
rived from a visit to Norway and to inform 
readers who prefer (or are forced by circum¬ 
stances) to travel within the covers of a book. 
He trusts, also, that his book may serve to re¬ 
fresh the memories of those who have already 
travelled in Norway. 

In a country so rich in mountains, ice-fields, 
waterfalls, and fjords, it is altogether easy to 
devote the chief part of the book to physio¬ 
graphic forms and forces. This is precisely 
what most writers on Norway have done. The 
present volume, on the other hand, gives prom¬ 
inence to matters of human interest — the peo¬ 
ple, their habits, customs, and traditions, and 

• • 

Vll 



Vlll 


Preface 


to the developed and developing civilization of 
the country. Important as the Sogne, the Har- 
danger, and the North Cape may be as geo¬ 
graphic types and marvels of scenery, Edvard 
Grieg, Bjornson, and the institutions of the 
country are likewise significant features of the 
land, and they should receive due consideration 
in a popular work of this sort. 

The geography of the country is given in 
the first chapter. The chief structural features 
of the land — plateaus, coast-islands, fjords, 
glaciers, f jelds, and climate — are briefly 
sketched. Most of these topics are given more 
detailed treatment elsewhere in the book, the 
opening chapter serving merely the purpose of 
orientation. 

The viking age appeals strikingly to the 
imagination of readers and travellers, and the 
author has endeavoured to draw from the 
chronicles of the old Norse sagas and the ex¬ 
isting historic objects that have a visible con¬ 
nection with the past such facts as may aid in 
the construction of a fairly vivid picture of 
this stirring period. 

The civilization of Norway can only be inter¬ 
preted through such significant historic facts 
as the long period of independence under na- 



Preface 


IX 


tive earls and kings and the unhappy alliances 
with Denmark and Sweden; hence, two his¬ 
torical chapters have been added. Readers 
who object to history in tabloid-form are re¬ 
quested to skip these chapters. Those, how¬ 
ever, who are not familiar with the trend of 
events in Norway are likely to find them help¬ 
ful. 

While the recent rupture with Sweden and 
the formation of an independent kingdom is 
fresh in the minds of most students of current 
history, a hasty review of these events is 
given, with a brief account of the young king 
whom the Norwegians have selected as their 
sovereign, together with the methods of operat¬ 
ing this very democratic monarchy. 

The people of Norway, their ethnic stock, 
physical and mental characteristics, moral 
traits, and personal qualities, are discussed in 
the sixth chapter; and the Lapps of the polar 
regions in the seventh. The ancient and mod¬ 
ern Norse religions are described in the eighth 
chapter; and the author has not assumed on 
the part of his readers very general acquaint¬ 
ance with that branch of Scandinavian mythol¬ 
ogy which formed the basis of the religion of 
Norway before the introduction of Christian- 




X 


Preface 


ity. In the tenth chapter an account is given 
of public education — elementary and second¬ 
ary schools, the university, technical and spe¬ 
cial schools, libraries, and literary publications. 

Methods of travel in Norway differ in so 
many particulars from the other countries of 
Europe that a chapter has been devoted to the 
subject. The life on the lonely and solitary 
farms is treated in the eleventh chapter, and 
the fisheries, forests, and commerce in the 
twelfth. 

Norway is probably best known in foreign 
countries by the grand fjords which indent her 
western coast. The author has described the 
most magnificent fjords from the Hardanger 
to the Trondhjem in the thirteenth chapter. 
The fjelds (mountains) and the deep and pic¬ 
turesque mountain valleys of the southern and 
central highlands are treated in the fourteenth 
chapter. 

The three cities of the country first in point 
of historic interest — Trondhjem, Bergen, and 
Christiania — are separately described; and 
three chapters are devoted to the flowers of 
Norwegian civilization — literature, music, 
painting, architecture, and sculpture. The 
large place which Norway occupies in the cur- 




Preface 


XI 


rent history of the fine arts will come as a 
surprise to most readers. 

A select annotated bibliography will be 
found in the appendix. For the use of these 
books the author is indebted to that excellent 
literary workshop — the City Library at 
Springfield, Massachusetts. In the spelling of 
the names of places and persons preference 
has been given to accepted Norwegian forms 
of orthography. 

The author wishes to thank a host of friends 
in Norway who have aided him in the collection 
and the verification of the data in his book. 
The illustrations are from photographs taken 
by the author and personal friends or pur¬ 
chased from professional photographers in the 
country. Special thanks are due Mr. William 
Barton Hale of Rochester, New York, and Mr. 
George W. Stimson of Pasadena, California, 
for aid in this line. Mr. Hale generously 
placed his large collection of several hundred 
excellent Norwegian photographs at the dis¬ 
posal of the author; and several of the best 
illustrations in the book are from his collection. 

Will S. Monkoe. 




















CONTENTS 


-♦- 

CHAPTER I 

GEOGRAPHY OF SCANDINAVIA 

Extent and structure of the Scandinavian peninsula — 
The Kjolen upland — The Dovrefjeld highland — The 
Plateau of southern Norway — Effects of the Ice Age — 
Snow-fields and glaciers — The Jostedal and the Supper- 
helle — Origin and character of the Norwegian fjords — 
Coast islands — The Lofoten chain — Midnight sun and 
winter darkness — Climate of Norway — Temperature 
and rainfall — Wild animals, birds, and sea-fowls — 
The flora of Norway. 


CHAPTER II 

THE VIKING AGE 

Earliest human habitation in Norway — The stone age — 
The civilization of the bronze age — The iron age and 
the viking period — The vikings characterized — Dis¬ 
tinct historic periods of the viking age — Conquests in 
Normandy, Great Britain, and the south — Amalgama¬ 
tion of the vikings — Ravages in France, England, and 
Germany — Contact with Christianity — Recovered 
ancient viking grave-ships — The Gokstad ship — Burial 
of viking chiefs — The recently discovered Oseberg 
ship — Industries and domestic life of the vikings 




XIV 


Contents 


PAGE 

CHAPTER III 

UNDER THE OLD NORSE KINGS 

Norway one of the oldest sovereign states — Viking age the 
beginning of recorded history — The first Olaf — Harald 
the Fair-Haired — Norse colonization — Haakon the 
Good the first Christian king — Harald Grayfell and 
his brothers — Earl Haakon and paganism — The ro¬ 
mantic career of Olaf Trygvesson — Adoption of Chris¬ 
tianity — Discovery and settlement of North America — 
Picturesque career of Olaf the Saint — Consequences 
of a vigorous policy — Magnus the Good and Harald 
the Hard-Ruler — Olaf the Quiet and the arts of peace 
— Magnus the Bare-Leg and the Scotch islands — The 
illegitimate sons of Magnus — Eyestein and industrial 
development — A century of strife — The Birch-legs 
and the triumph of the peasants — Sverre Sigurdsson, 
Norway’s greatest king — Haakon Haakonsson the 
Old — A succession of weak rulers — The Hanseatic 
league — The “ Black Death ” — Union with Denmark 
and Sweden.28 


CHAPTER IV 

UNION WITH DENMARK AND SWEDEN 

Queen Margaret and the union of Norway, Sweden, and 
Denmark — Provisions of the Kalmar union — The 
weakness of King Eric — Withdrawal of Sweden from 
the union — Loss of the Scotch islands — Oppressions 
of the Danish kings — The Protestant reformation and 
the adoption of the Lutheran religion — Seven years’ war 
with Sweden — Misery in Norway under Frederick IV — 
German Puritanism — Norway separated from Den¬ 
mark and united with Sweden — The Eidsvold con¬ 
stitution — Conflicts between king and parliament — 

Oscar I and Oscar II — Events which culminated in the 
rupture with Sweden.54 





Contents 


XV 


PAGE 

CHAPTER V 

HAAKON VII AND THE NEW KINGDOM 

Rejection of the consular service bill leads to the separation 
from Sweden — Result of the general plebiscite in Nor¬ 
way — Terms of separation — Haakon VII elected 
sovereign of the new kingdom — Social and personal 
qualities of the young king — Norway a constitutional 
monarchy — The national parliament — Executive 
department of the government — Simplicity of Nor¬ 
wegian laws — Crime and criminals — Organization of 
the Norwegian courts — Army and navy — Government 
revenues and expenditures — Nature of the direct and 
indirect taxes — Free-trade and protectionist policies — 

The national debt — Financial obligations of the mu¬ 
nicipalities — The monetary system of Norway — Na¬ 
tional and savings banks and their supervision . . 70 


CHAPTER VI 

THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY 

Norway the home of the purest Teutonic ethnic stock — 
Physical characteristics of the people — Stature — 
Mental characteristics — Independence and absence of 
hereditary aristocracy — Talent recruited from the 
the ranks of the peasants — Moral traits of the people — 
Honesty and kindness to animals — Aptitude for trade 
and travel — Cleanliness, personal and otherwise — 
Standards of sexual morality — Charities and correc¬ 
tions — Sanitation and health — Area and population 
of the country — Emigration to the United States — 
Increase in the face of emigration — Urban and sub¬ 
urban population — Growth of the capital — Improve¬ 
ment of the condition of the industrial classes — Child- 
labour and the employment of women — Insurance 
against accident — Social and political legislation . . 87 




XVI 


Contents 


PAGE 

CHAPTER VII 

LAPPS AND THE POLAR REGIONS 

Polar sections of Norway and the Lapps — Climate of the 
polar regions — Rainfall and fog — The North Cape and 
the midnight sun — The aurora borealis — The nomadic 
Lapps — Physical and mental characteristics — Dress of 
the men and the women — Mountain Lapps and Sea 
Lapps — The reindeer in the economic life of the people 
Low state of civilization in Finmark — The Finns and 
their habits.104 

CHAPTER VIII 
NORSE religions: old and new 

Heathenism, Christianity, and the faith of Martin Luther — 
Norway the most Protestant country in the world — 

Early Scandinavian mythology — Odin and Thor the 
supreme gods — Resemblance to their Greek confreres 

— Minor Norse gods — The ancient heathen temple and 
its service — Sacrifice the chief rite — Introduction of 
Christianity into Norway — The German reformation 
movement — Creed of the Evangelical Lutheran church 

— Dissent and the Haugianere — Ecclesiastical divisions 

of Norway — Confirmation in the life of the child — 
Compensation and duties of the clergy . . . .115 

CHAPTER IX 

EDUCATION IN NORWAY 

Common school education universal in Norway — State 
control — Domestic education — Course of study and 
qualification of teachers — Secondary education — 

The national university at Christiania — Technical and 
special education — Art and industrial education — 
Learned societies — Public libraries — Newspapers and 
reviews — Press censorship during the union with Den¬ 
mark — Effect of the Eidsvold constitution — Some of 
the earliest journals — Newpapers and the Landsmaal 




Contents 


xvii 


PAGE 

— Efforts to make Norse dialects the official language 
of the country — Literary defects of the Landsmaal — 

The Dano-Norwegian and the New-Norwegian — Un- 
scious approximation of the two languages . . . .131 

CHAPTER X 

HIGHWAYS, RAILWAYS, AND WATEWAYS 

Excellent posting system in Norway — Carrioles, stolk- 
jserres, and sledges — Norwegian horses — Roads and 
road-building — Some fine mountain highways — 

How the roads are kept in repair — State railways of 
Norway — Enormous cost of construction — Leading 
lines — Fjord-boating facilities — Lake steamers — 
Canals of Norway — Postal telegraph, and telephone 
systems.151 


CHAPTER XI 

FARM-LIFE AND AGRICULTURE 

Small proportion of the land surface susceptible to culti¬ 
vation — Farmers small proprietors—Variety of agricul¬ 
tural products — Haymaking — Horses and cattle — 
Buildings on a Norwegian farmstead — The stabur — 

The mountain saeter — Dairying — Simple food — 
Varied industrial activities of the farmers — Norwegian 
names — How emigration has influenced agriculture — 
Attempts to improve agricultural conditions — Land 
and cultivation loans — Agricultural societies and 
education — Increase of price of landed property — 

The cotter system — Entails and community property . 163 

CHAPTER XII 

FORESTS, FISHERIES, AND COMMERCE 

Vast forest lands of Norway — Conifers the most impor¬ 
tant trees — Extensive use of birch for wood-pulp — 

The lumber industries — Value of timber products — 
Importance of the fisheries — Cod, herring, and mackerel 





xvm 


Contents 


PAGE 

— Crew of a fishing smack — Handicraft industries 
in Norway — Manufactures — Mineral products — Im¬ 
portance of commerce — Exports and imports — Foreign 
trade relations.178 


CHAPTER XIII 

FJORDS OF THE WEST COAST 

Character of Norwegian fjords and their branches — Their 
individuality — An American traveller’s description — 

— The Hardanger fjord and Odde — Native costumes — 
Waterfalls of the Hardanger — The Sogne and the 
Nsero fjords — The Nord fjord and its near-by glacial 
lakes — The Geiranger fjord and the “ Seven Sisters ” 

— Hellesylt and the Norangsdal — Marok — Molde and 

the Romsdal — The fjords north of the Trondhjem 
basin.190 


CHAPTER XIV 

FJELDS AND MOUNTAIN VALLEYS 

The southern plateau and its mountains and mountain 
valleys — The Ssetersdal — Telemarken and its pic¬ 
turesque costumes — Bergen to Vossevangen — The 
Finneloft — Over Stalheim — The Nierodal — Lserdals- 
oren — The Valders route — Husurn and the old tim¬ 
ber church at Borgund — The descent from Nystuen to 
Skogstad — Fagernses and Lake Spirillen — The moun¬ 
tain peaks and waterfalls of the Romsdal — The Gud- 
bransdal .20o 


CHAPTER XV 

trondhjem: its saint and its cathedral 
Trondjem once the residence of the Norse kings — Its loca¬ 
tion — Mediaeval foundation — Olaf the Saint and his 
early career — His reign one of the mile-stones in Nor¬ 
wegian history — His canonization and the St. Olaf cult 
—The national cathedral — Selection of Trondjem as the 





Contents 


XIX 


PAGE 

archiepiscopal see — Progress of the cathedral during the 
reign of Haakon Haakonsson — Fearful conflagrations — 

Fate of the cathedral after the reformation — Recent 
restorations — Other notable historic associations in 
Trondhjem.220 


CHAPTER XVI 

BERGEN AND THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE 

Picturesque location of Bergen — Foundation of the city 
by King Olaf the Quiet — Early monastic institutions — 

The royal palace and Haakon’s Hall — Bergen during 
the civil wars — Nature of the Hanseatic league — Its 
place in the history of European commerce — First 
foothold in Bergen —*• Character of the German mer¬ 
chants — Articles of trade — Oppressive power of the 
league finally broken — Bergen during the eighteenth 
century — Commerce injured by the war between Den¬ 
mark and England — Growth of industrial arts — The 
fishing industry — Municipal institutions — Art treas¬ 
ures — Leper hospitals.234 


CHAPTER XVII 

CHRISTIANIA THE MODERN CAPITAL 

The modern capital founded by King Christian IV — 

Its rapid growth — Three destructive fires — Some 
notable buildings — Fortress of Akershus and other 
historic monuments — Control of the liquor traffic in 
Christiania — Marked decrease in intemperance — Im¬ 
provement in public morals and decrease in the death 
rate — The Christiania fjord — Bygdd and the people’s 
museum — Hanko and summer resorts — Holmenkollen 
and winter sports — Skiing, ski-jumping, and ski-sailing 
— Tobogganing, hill-sliding, and ice-pegging . . . 247 






XX 


Contents 


page 

CHAPTER XVIII 

NORSE LETTERS AND HENRIK IBSEN 

Origin of the languages and literature of Scandinavia — 
Revived interest in the old Norse — The ancient runes 
-— Literary influences of the union with Denmark — 

Peder Dass and the seventeenth century — Union with 
Sweden and literary independence — Wergeland and 
Welhaven — Norwegian literature to-day — Bjornson — 

His romances, dramas, and personality — Henrik Ibsen 
— Socialist and psychologist — “ Peer Gynt ” and Nor¬ 
wegian peasant life — Ibsen’s art — “ Brand ” — Ibsen’s 
dramas characterized — Current men of letters — Jonas 
Lie and his romances — The novelettes of Kielland — 
Heilberg and dramatic literature — The bow of promise 
of Norwegian literary art.260 

CHAPTER XIX 

FOLK - MUSIC AND EDVARD GRIEG 

Origin of Norwegian folk-songs — How they typify the 
country — Significance of the epics — Ancient musical 
instruments — The Hardanger violin, the lur, and the 
langeleik — Rhythms of the national dances — Ole Bull 
and national music — Labours of Kjerulf, Nordraak, 
Winter-Hjelm, and Christian Sinding — Women com¬ 
posers — Edvard Grieg the greatest of the Norwegian 
creative tone-artists — His early training and studies in 
Germany — Wide range of his compositions — The 
national element of his music — Pianoforte composi¬ 
tions — Grieg’s lyric art-songs — Orchestral and cham¬ 
ber-music — Place of Grieg in the history of music — 
Concert virtuosi — Norwegian pianists — Choral socie¬ 
ties and music festivals — The Norwegian Musical Union 278 

CHAPTER XX 

PAINTING, SCULPTURE, AND ARCHITECTURE 

Recent development of national art-consciousness — First 
generation of painters influenced by Denmark and Ger- 




Contents 


XXI 


many — Dahl, Fearnley, Baade, and Frich — The second 
period in the history of Norwegian painting and the in. 
fluence of the Diisseldorf school — National themes 
Contemporary artists — Otto Sinding, Heyerdahl, 
Thaulow, and Werenskiold — The younger painters — 
Sculpture allied with woodwork — Stephen Sinding and 
Skeibrok — Development of architecture — Timber 
buildings — The cathedrals — Old churches at Borgund, 
Vik, and Reinlid — Domestic architecture . 

Appendixes. 

Bibliography. 


PAGE 


296 

309 

314 










LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


-♦-- 

PAGE 

Trondhjem Cathedral {in full colour ) (See page 232 ) 

Frontispiece 

Map.2 

The Suppehelle Glacier {in full colour ) ... 5 

The Jostedalsbr^i: the largest ice - field in Europe. 
Crossing the Folgefonde ice - field with sledges 

IN SUMMER .6 

The Midnight Sun.10 

Bird - cliffs in Finmark.11 

A Modern Nordland Boat. — The Oseberg Ship . 26 

The Ncero Fjord.47 

In the Valders.52 

A Mountain Lake.62 

The Royal Family of Norway.74 

National Costume in the Hardanger .... 90 

National Costume in Telemarken .... 94 

In the Hitterdal. — In the Sastersdal .... 98 

A Bride in the Numedal.100 

A Group of Sea Lapps. — A Group of Mountain 

Lapps .110 

Herd of Reindeer.112 

Going to Church.130 

University of Christiania.136 

A Norwegian Carriole.152 

Railway from Bergen to Vossevangen .... 156 

Steamer - yacht, “ Haakon VII.” — Lock in the Skein- 

Nordsjo - Bandak Canal.. 160 

A Fjord Farm.. 164 


XXIII 















XXIV 


List of Illustrations 


PAGE 


Haying in the Fjords. — Drying Hay .... 166 

A Norwegian Maud Muller.168 

A Mountain S^eter.170 

In the Pine Forest Zone.180 

A Fishing Village. — Drying Codfish .... 182 

Hammerfest.184 

A Fjord Flour Mill.188 

National Costume and Industry.190 

The Seven Sisters.199 

The Norangsdal.201 

The Trondhjem Fjord (in full colour ) .... 203 

Loen on the Nord Fford. — Molde .... 204 

The Finneloft at Vossevangen.204 

Stalheim.210 

The Sivlefos in the NjERo’dal.212 

The Borgund Church.214 

Lake Spirillen. — The Romsdal.217 

The Broad Streets of Trondhjem. — The Union Rail¬ 
way Station at Trondhjem.232 

Bergen Fish Market.243 

On the Christiania Fjord.254 

Ski - driving. — Ski - jumping ...... 257 

Henrik Ibsen.266 

Fridtjof Nansen.274 

Edvard Grieg. — Christian Sinding.284 

Mrs. Backer - Grondahl . 286 

The Reinlid Church. 307 

Mediaeval Norse Domestic Architecture . . . 308 













THE 


SPELL OE NORWAY 

- +-- 

CHAPTER I 

GEOGRAPHY OF SCANDINAVIA 


Extent and structure of the Scandinavian peninsula — The 
Kjolen upland — The Dovref jeld highland — The Plateau of 
southern Norway — Effects of the Ice Age — Snow-fields and 
glaciers — The Jostedal and the Supperhelle — Origin and 
character of the Norwegian fjords — Coast islands — The 
Lofoten chain — Midnight sun and winter darkness — Cli¬ 
mate of Norway — Temperature and rainfall — Wild ani¬ 
mals, birds, and sea-fowls — The flora of Norway. 


The Scandinavian peninsula is 1,160 miles 
long and it varies in width, from 240 to 470 
miles. It forms a reasonably elevated plateau 
and is traversed by a series of mountain ranges 
that form the water-shed and a natural bound¬ 
ary between Norway and Sweden. On the west 
side of the plateau there are narrow fjords — 
deep gorges filled with water — that penetrate 
into the peninsula for many miles and on the 
long eastern slopes there are many mountain 
valleys and numerous lakes. Geologically 

l 



2 


In Viking Land 


Scandinavia is very old, arcliaean rocks being 
widely spread over the south and east; and 
where they do not appear on the surface, they 
are covered by glacial formations, sand, and 
clay. Structurally it is made up of detached 
plateaus and mountain ranges from two to 
three thousand feet above sea level. 

Mountain ranges, more or less broken in 
character, extend from the Naze to the Ve- 
ranger fjord. The plateau has three reason¬ 
ably well marked divisions — the Kjolen in 
the north, the Dovrefjeld in the center, and the 
Langfjeld in the south. The highest point in 
the Kjolen plateau is the Sulitelma (6,151 
feet), not a separate peak but a group of crests 
resting on a common base. Being within the 
arctic circle it has immense snow-fields and 
glaciers. At Trondhjem there is a depression 
in the Kjolen upland, the highest point in the 
highway which crosses the plateau being only 
1,670 feet above the sea. The Dovrefjeld is 
scarcely a plateau, but a series of highlands 
and glacial-worn mountain ranges. Here are 
found the highest peaks in Scandinavia — the 
Glittertind (8,385 feet) and the Galdhopig 
(8,400 feet). Several of the other peaks of the 
Jotunheim exceed six thousand feet. The snow 





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Geography of Scandinavia 


3 


line here is only 5,580 feet and the portions of 
the plateau between the peaks are entirely cov¬ 
ered with snow. The Justedal, the largest ice¬ 
field in Europe, is here, and there are a num¬ 
ber of lakes at elevations of more than three 
thousand feet. 

To the south of the Dovrefjeld plateau is the 
highland of southern Norway formed by the 
Langfjeld, the Hardangerfjeld, and the Fille- 
fjeld. West of the plateau are deep fjords and 
rugged cliffs; to the south are vast troughs 
which form several of the most picturesque 
valleys in Scandinavia, and on the east are the 
rich woodlands, a succession of forest-clad hill¬ 
sides, with bits of cultivated ground in the in¬ 
tervening hollows. While topographically not 
distinct from the Dovrefjeld, it constitutes a 
separate plateau, with very few single peaks 
or groups of peaks rising above the general 
level. The relatively even summits suggest 
that it was originally a plain of denudation 
that was subsequently forced up into an arch. 
The summits that tower above the plateau are 
of harder kinds of rock and have better with¬ 
stood the destructive forces that have levelled 
the remainder of the plain. 

There was a period when the Scandinavian 




4 


In Viking Land 


peninsula was overrun by glaciers and snow- 
fields as Greenland is to-day. This period is 
known as the ice age. It is difficult to say how 
long ago this was, but judging from the con¬ 
siderable geographic changes that have since 
taken place it is safe to conclude that it was 
several hundred thousand years ago. The an¬ 
cient ice sheet in Norway is estimated to have 
been from six to seven thousand feet thick, and 
the amount of work done by the glaciers, in the 
way of erosion, transportation and the deposi¬ 
tion of rock and earthy material, was very 
great. Since the deposition toward the mar¬ 
gin of a glacier must be commensurate with 
its erosion near the center of movement, the 
waste to the mountains of Norway by glacial 
erosion must have been something enormous. 
Much of this erosive material was carried be¬ 
yond the Baltic and forms the subglacial de¬ 
position of northern Germany. 

In spite of the fact that the Scandinavian 
peninsula has only a moderate elevation, its 
northern latitude and moist climate continue to 
favour the growth of glaciers and ice-fields at 
relatively low altitudes. The portions of the 
Norwegian plateau south of the sixty-seventh 
degree of north latitude, that have elevations 














\ 



' V 




The Suppehelle Glacier 


\ 













It 






Geography of Scandinavia 


5 


of more than five thousand feet, are capital 
glacier breeders. Norway has in consequence 
more than five thousand square miles of snow- 
fields. The Jostedal snow-field, in latitude 
sixty-two degrees north, covers five hundred 
and eighty square miles and twenty-four gla¬ 
ciers push from it outward towards the Ger¬ 
man sea. The largest of the glaciers is five 
miles long and three-fourths of a mile wide. 
The Fondalen snow-field covers about the same 
area as the Jostedal; but on account of its 
northern location — it is between latitude 
sixty-six and sixty-seven degrees — its glaciers 
descend through the valleys quite to the ocean 
level. 

The Suppehelle glacier in the Sogne is a 
branch of the massive Jostedalsbrae. It forces 
its way through the narrow gap in the moun¬ 
tains and expands in the lower ravines into a 
vast sea of ice full of jagged ridges and pin¬ 
nacles. These glitter and scintillate in the 
noonday sun with a cruel brilliancy. The pale 
green streams which issue from it form mag¬ 
nificently vaulted deep blue caverns. As it 
leaves the ice-sheet to descend to the ravine, 
the glacier gives the appearance of reversed 
billows suddenly congealed in the act of break- 




6 


In Viking Land 


ing. From the Folgefonde, the most south- 
ernly ice-field in Norway, glaciers descend in 
all directions, following the lines of the valleys, 
the two most beautiful being the Buarbrae at 
Odde and the Bondhusbrge at Mauranger. 
These great snow-fields and glaciers are the 
parents of ten thousand beautiful cascades; 
and, even in midsummer, snow loops every 
ledge and curtains every slope down as far as 
the woodlands. 

The fjords of Norway furnish additional 
evidence of the erosive power of the great ice- 
sheet with which the peninsula was once cov¬ 
ered. The western coast-line is broken up by 
deep incisions of the sea into the rocky cliffs. 
No other force is known that could have hol¬ 
lowed out such a continuous and uniform series 
of basins. Canons probably existed on the 
slopes of the plateau before the glacial period, 
and since then the rivers have undoubtedly 
continued the work of deepening the gorges; 
but the characteristic fjord-basins are found 
only in countries that have once been covered 
by great masses of inland ice. With the ex¬ 
ception of those in Finmark, where the high¬ 
land lowers, the fjords of Norway are very 
narrow and very deep. The Sogne at points 





THE JOSTEDALSBRAL: THE LARGEST ICE - FIELD IN EUROPE. 



CROSSING THE FOLGEFONDE ICE - FIELD WITH SLEDGES IN 

SUMMER. 







Geography of Scandinavia 


7 


attains a depth of more than four thousand 
feet. The two longest of the fjords are the 
Sogne — one hundred and thirty-six miles — 
and the Hardanger — one hundred and four¬ 
teen miles. The fjords for the most part are 
partially obstructed at their entrance by the 
remains of old moraines; and many of them 
are so effectually cut off from the ocean by 
islands and reefs that fresh water from the 
rains and melting snows often covers their 
surface to a depth of four feet. Marine algae 
likewise give place to fresh-water plants. The 
east coast of the peninsula may have once been 
indented with gorges similar to the fjords, but 
they have been gradually tilled up by the allu¬ 
vial deposits of the rivers. Detailed descrip¬ 
tions of the fjords from the Hardanger to the 
Trondhjem depression will be found in a sub¬ 
sequent chapter. 

After the fjords the next most prominent 
topographical feature of Norway is the chain 
of islands which borders the country on the 
ocean side. Varying in size just big enough 
for the nest of a sea-fowl to Hondo in the 
Lofoten group, which contains eight hundred 
and seventy square miles, islands are continu¬ 
ous from Stavanger to Magero. They number 




8 


In Viking Land 


one hundred and fifty thousand and contain 
one-fourteenth of the land surface of Norway 
and one-eightli of the population. They are 
of the same geological formation as the hilly 
peninsulas that project from the mainland, al¬ 
though somewhat less elevated; and, like the 
fjords, they are the work of the inland ice- 
glaciers. One can sail from the Bukn fjord 
to Lyngstuen through labyrinthine passages of 
grim rocks and islets in land-locked waters, the 
only considerable breaks being at the mouths 
of the Folden and Vest fjords and near the 
North Cape. Many of the largest islands are 
within the arctic circle, as Kvalo, on which 
Hammerfest is situated, the Seiland, Soro, 
Varno, Hvalo and Tromsd. Many of them are 
very mountainous, sheer sea-cliffs rising out 
of the ocean to heights of three thousand feet. 

The Lofoten chain flanks the mainland for 
more than a hundred miles, the islands being 
so close together that when seen from a dis¬ 
tance they give the appearance of a long moun¬ 
tain chain. They have bold, rugged, and 
deeply-indented coasts and elevated interiors, 
some of them being covered with perpetual 
snow. “ Like needles,’’ says a Norse rhapso- 
dist, “ their snow-capped peaks pierce the sky. 




Geography of Scandinavia 


9 


During the greater part of the year snow fills 
the ravines far down the mountain sides, clasp¬ 
ing their frosty arms around the valleys, and 
sending down like streams of tears along the 
weather-beaten cheeks of these northern Alps, 
innumerable foaming waterfalls and roaring 
cascades, falling in an endless variety of grace¬ 
ful shapes into the profound fjords below. 
With their lofty jagged pinnacles, fantastic 
chasms, and rugged precipices they present a 
picture of unutterable grandeur.” The coasts 
of the Lofoten islands are inhabited by fisher¬ 
men, these being the chief cod and herring 
fishing grounds of Norway. During the fishing 
season forty thousand men are thus employed 
and the annual yield exceeds two million dol¬ 
lars. The islands are exposed on the western 
side to severe storms, and near the south end 
of the group is the famous whirlpool known as 
the maelstrom. 

The summer days in Norway are long and 
bright, but in the winter they are short and 
dark. A third of the country is in the latitude 
of the midnight sun and winter darkness. 
Even in the southern sections of the country, 
twilight asserts itself during the entire night 
of the summer. At Stavanger the nights are 




10 


In Viking Land 


light from the last of April to the middle of 
August; at Bergen and Christiania they begin 
a week earlier and end a week later, and at 
Trondhjem there is broad daylight at midnight 
from the 23rd of May to the 20th of July. 
The midnight sun, however, is not visible 
south of the polar circle. It is above the 
horizon throughout the twenty-four hours at 
Bodo from the 3rd of June to the 7th of July; 
at Tromso from the 19th of May to the 22d of 
July, and at the North Cape from the 12th of 
May to the 29th of July. There are corre¬ 
sponding periods during November, December, 
and January when the sun is not seen. But the 
darkness of winter is by no means so great as 
might be imagined. The whiteness of the snow 
gives a glimmer of light and the prolonged 
flashes of the aurora borealis set the heavens 
in a blaze, so that the darkness of the long 
winter nights is turned into a sort of twilight; 
and the beauty and the brilliance of the north¬ 
ern lights compensate in some degree for the 
absence of the sun’s rays. 

Extending as it does through thirteen de¬ 
grees of latitude, Norway has a wide range of 
climate. South of the Dovrefjeld, the mean 
annual temperature varies from 40° Fahren- 





THE MIDNIGHT SUN 





Geography of Scandinavia 


11 


heit at Lindesnaes to 31° at Fjeldberg. July is 
the hottest month, when, in the south, the ther¬ 
mometer may register 80° to 90°. The winter 
temperature of southern Norway is relatively 
mild, when one recalls the latitude. The mean 
winter register for Christiania is 25°, at Ton- 
saasen in the Valders 17°, but in the mountain 
valleys it falls much below zero. Rainfall is 
very unevenly distributed over southern Nor¬ 
way. At Grimstad on the coast the average 
annual rainfall is forty-eight inches, at Chris¬ 
tiania twenty-four inches, and in the Dovre- 
fjeld less than twelve inches. 

The western coast of Norway, coming di¬ 
rectly under the influence of the Gulf Stream, 
has a milder and more uniform climate. Sum¬ 
mer lasts four months and the mean annual 
temperature ranges from 41° at Vossevangen 
(altitude 184 feet) to 38° at Rodal (altitude 
1,411 feet). July and August are the hottest 
of the summer months and February is the 
coldest month of the winter. Extremes of tem¬ 
perature are least on the coast and greatest 
inland. The rainfall of western Norway is 
heavy, diminishing from the coast inland. At 
Bergen it exceeds seventy-five inches, but the 
interior sections get scarcely half that amount. 




12 


In Viking Land 


Tlie decrease of the rainfall from the coast 
inland is well illustrated in the Sogne fjord. 
At its entrance the annual rainfall is eighty 
inches, and at Lserdalsoren, eighty-seven miles 
inland, it is fifty inches; on the Naero fjord, 
seventy miles from the coast, it is thirty-one 
inches, and at Lserdalsoren, eighty-seven miles 
from the entrance of the fjord, it is only six¬ 
teen inches. 

The wild animals of Norway are noticeably 
tamer than in other countries. This is prob¬ 
ably due to the long winters when they are 
forced to seek the habitations of men for food, 
thus overcoming to a degree their instinctive 
fears. The elk and the deer are the most inter¬ 
esting of the large wild animals, although both 
are being rapidly exterminated. A few elk are 
still found among the mountain ash and willow 
on the highlands, and there are limited num¬ 
bers of the red deer on the coast islands south 
of Trondhjem. The wild reindeer, rather 
darker in colour than the domesticated animals 
of Lapland, are still reasonably abundant. 
The most important carniverous animals are 
the bear, the wolf, the glutton, the lynx, and 
the fox. The brown bear is found only among 
the pine forests of the woodlands and a few 




Geography of Scandinavia 


13 


polar bears still cross the ice from Spitzbergen 
to the northern islands during the winter 
months. The arctic fox, much prized for its 
skin, which turns white when exposed to the 
severe cold, is found in considerable numbers 
in Finmark. The most important rodents of 
Norway are the lemmings. In size and form 
they resemble the mole, although the colour is 
golden buff and they have large black spots on 
the neck. Their habitat is Lapland, but large 
swarms emigrate south each year in search 
of food; and the ease with which they climb 
the steep mountain cliffs and swim the streams 
is something astonishing. 

To except sea-fowls, the bird life of Nor¬ 
way is neither as varied nor as abundant as 
might be expected. Yellow-hammers, wagtails, 
blackbirds, and magpies are most often seen. 
In a country where the gun is the sole means 
of obtaining fresh meat for the table, the game 
laws are very loosely observed. In conse¬ 
quence such game birds as grouse, plover, 
black-cock, ptarmigan are scarce; and a sports¬ 
man who hoped to get a good bag in a day’s 
hunt would require seven league boots. Eagles, 
ospreys, and falcons are still reasonably abun¬ 
dant among the mountains. Enormous colonies 




14 


In Viking Land 


of sea-birds breed on the cliffs of the western 
fjords and northern islands, including the 
kittiwake, the puffin, the cormorant, the auk, 
and the eider-duck. They are much hunted 
for their eggs, feathers, and flesh. The eider- 
ducks are being better protected in recent 
times. The owner of the ground where the 
nest is built is permitted during the hatching 
season to gather a certain amount of the down 
which the female plucks from her body. The 
nest is built of marine plants but is lined with 
down of exquisite fineness. As the lining is 
removed she continues to reline it throughout 
the period of incubation. A nest will produce 
half a pound of good down after it has been 
picked and cleaned. 

The student of plant life will find the flora 
of Norway singularly luxuriant and varied. 
In the matter of flowering plants, more than 
fifteen hundred species grow wild in the coun¬ 
try; and many of the varieties are of the rare 
sort found only in polar regions. The lake 
basins and fjords of the south-eastern prov¬ 
inces furnish the greatest number and variety 
of flowering plants, the neighbourhood of 
Christiania alone having more than nine hun¬ 
dred wild phanerogams. Here the summers are 





BIRD - CLIFFS IN FINMARK 








Geography of Scandinavia 


15 


relatively long, the climate moderate, and the 
rainfall abundant. Among perennial spring 
flowers may be named the blue hepatica which 
carpets the woods with blossoms during April 
and May, the reddish yellow saxifrage which 
appears as soon as the snow has gone, several 
varieties of rare wood orchids, the beautiful 
but poisonous foxglove with long spikes of 
pale blue bells, a number of species of gentian 
similar to those found in the high Alps, and 
the arctic and Scotch heath. The fragile and 
delicate Norwegian flora is in striking contrast 
with the rugged and gigantic landscape which 
it adorns. Battalions of tiny lily of the valley, 
dainty groups of purple larkspur, the quaint 
blossoms of the dwarf cornel, and the delicate 
trailing honeysuckle are found on the sides and 
at the bottoms of the great fjords. Blaeberry, 
black crowberry, and dogberry cover the moun¬ 
tain knolls; among the bogs are found quanti¬ 
ties of cloudberry, bilberry, and whortleberry, 
and wild strawberries and raspberries grow 
abundantly in the valleys that lead into the 
fjords. The edible berries have a delicious 
aroma that is peculiar to Norway. 





CHAPTER II 


THE VIKING AGE 


Earliest human habitation in Norway — The stone age — The 
civilization of the bronze age — The iron age and the viking 
period — The vikings characterized — Distinct historic peri¬ 
ods of the viking age — Conquests in Normandy, Great 
Britain, and the south — Amalgamation of the vikings — 
Ravages in France, England, and Germany — Contact with 
Christianity — Recovered ancient viking grave-ships — The 
Gokstad ship — Burial of viking chiefs — The recently dis¬ 
covered Oseberg ship — Industries and domestic life of the 
vikings. 


The earliest evidences of human habitation 
in Norway — from four to five thousand years 
ago — indicate that the people belonged to 
what is commonly called the stone age. They 
did not know the use of metals, but employed 
in their stead stone, bone, and wood for their 
rude tools and weapons. They had fixed 
dwelling places; domesticated animals; buried 
their dead in large stone chambers, and fol¬ 
lowed such occupations as hunting and fish¬ 
ing. The stone age persisted in Norway much 
longer than in the other countries of Europe, 
in consequence of which, the implements found 

16 


The Viking Age 


17 


are more beautiful in design and more careful 
in workmanship. They are made of sand¬ 
stone, flint, and various kinds of eruptive rocks, 
while in the northern provinces slate was 
largely used. The most populous parts of 
Norway during the stone age were the basins 
of the Christiania and Trondhjem fjords. 

During the bronze age — from one thousand 
to fifteen hundred years before the birth of 
Christ — metals came into general use. Bronze 
was made from a mixture of copper and tin, 
although the use of gold was also known. But 
as the bronze had to be brought from central 
and southern Europe, and was therefore very 
costly, stone implements were widely used 
throughout the bronze age in Norway. Dur¬ 
ing this period agriculture was developed; 
animals were more generally domesticated, and 
the dead were cremated. Among the notable 
memorials of the bronze age are the rock en¬ 
gravings. These are rough drawings scratched 
upon the solid rocks of the smooth mountain 
sides; some represent objects in nature and 
others have a symbolic significance. The dis¬ 
tribution of the population during this period 
was essentially the same as during the stone 
age. 



18 


In Viking Land 


The iron age in Norway began from three 
to four hundred years before the Christian era 
and continued to the end of the viking period 
— about 1050 a. d. This was a period of 
marked development; population increased; 
the simpler industrial arts were acquired; and 
the culture of letters began. Both cremation 
and burial are found throughout the iron age. 
To this period belong the runic inscriptions of 
Norway. These were carved upon stone, weap¬ 
ons, and ornaments, and the characters were 
based upon the Latin alphabet. The older 
runic alphabet consisted of twenty-four letters, 
but in later times the characters were reduced 
in size and in number to sixteen. The viking 
expeditions, during the latter part of the iron 
age, tended to modify greatly the character of 
Norse civilization by the introduction of man¬ 
ners and customs from the more advanced 
countries of central and southern Europe. 

From the seventh to the tenth centuries 
there issued from the fjords of the west coast 
of Norway hardy adventurers and pirates who 
ravaged and subdued most of the coasts which 
they visited. They were valorous and plucky, 
greedy and bloodthirsty. Their religion had 
inculcated doctrines of conquest and war, and 



The Viking Age 


19 


the Golden Rule of Odin and Thor had taught 
them that might makes right. They swept, 
whole districts with fire and sword, sparing 
nothing they could carry off in their ships. 
More than half of Great Britain and the fairest 
province of France became theirs. They gave 
kings to England; grand-dukes to Normandy; 
and in Sicily they carved out important prin¬ 
cipalities. These powerful and dreaded sea- 
warriors and pirates are known in history as 
the vikings. 

Sars, in his authoritative two-volume history 
of Norway, divides the viking age into three 
historic periods. During the first period cruises 
more or less tentative and irregular were 
made to Great Britain, Denmark, and Flanders, 
where coast towns and monasteries were at¬ 
tacked, after which the plunderers returned to 
Norway with their booty. During the second 
period the expeditions were characterized by 
more definite organization and greater skill in 
the art of war. Not only were foreign cities 
attacked and plundered, but they were fortified 
and held as objective points from which to 
make forays into the surrounding country. 
The Norse sagas not only give ethical sanction 
to viking expeditions, but regard them as legit- 




20 


In Viking Land 


\ 


imate aids in the education of young men of 
good birth. A Norse historian remarks: 
“ Royal youths of twelve or fifteen years often 
went abroad as commanders of viking fleets, 
in order to test their manhood and accumulate 
experience and knowledge of men.” 

During the third period they no longer re¬ 
turned to their native country but assumed the 
role of conquerors and took charge of the com¬ 
merce and the government of the cities and 
provinces which they vanquished. The de¬ 
scendants of Rollo and his vikings in Nor¬ 
mandy soon lost all trace of their connection 
with rude sea-kings; and the refinement and 
luxury which they developed were in striking 
contrast to the manners of even the conquered 
Gauls. In a comparatively short time the rude 
and piratical vikings were transformed into 
the chivalry of Norman barons; and after the 
Christian conversion of the fierce worshippers 
of Thor and Odin, they became the most de¬ 
vout sons and defenders of the Christian 
church, and their ecclesiastical and castellated 
architecture became the admiration of succeed¬ 
ing ages. 

The speedy amalgamation of the vikings, 
with customs and institutions of the lands 




The Viking Age 


21 


which they occupied, is one of the striking facts 
of the mediaeval period. Professor Boyesen 
remarks in this connection: “ The feudal sys¬ 
tem which, with all its defects, is yet the indis¬ 
pensable basis of a higher civilization, has its 
roots in the Germanic instinct of loyalty — of 
mutual allegiance between master and vassal; 
and the noble spirit of independence which re¬ 
strains and limits the power of the ruler, and 
at a later stage leads to constitutional gov¬ 
ernment, is even a more distinctly Norse than 
Germanic characteristic. While Norway up 
under the pole has developed a democracy, 
Germany, at too early a period, has developed 
a military despotism under constitutional 
forms.’ ’ 

The earliest recorded viking expedition was 
to Sleswick in 777, although piratical fleets 
from Norway had infested the North and the 
Baltic seas for a century or two before this 
date. In 841 a viking expedition sailed up the 
Loire in France, burning the city of Amboise 
and besieging Tours. About the same time an¬ 
other viking crew sailed up the Seine and 
burned Beauvois and Rouen, destroyed the 
Fontenelle monastery, and plundered Paris. 
The Rhine was likewise entered and Dorsten, 




22 


In Viking Land 


Nymegen, and other towns on its banks were 
ravished. At an even earlier date (839) a 
viking fleet of one hundred and twenty ships 
spread terror and desolation along the coast 
of Ireland and captured the city of Dublin, 
which was held by the Norsemen for three cen¬ 
turies. Scotland, the Orkneys, the Hebrides, 
and the Faroe Islands were similarly plun¬ 
dered and ravaged. 

England likewise suffered at the hands of 
the pirates from Norway. In 787 a band of 
vikings ravaged the coast of Dorchester and 
seven years later the coast of Northumberland 
was plundered. Simeon of Durham, a twelfth 
century chronicler, writes of this invasion: 
“ The heathen came from the northern coun¬ 
tries to Britain like stinging wasps, roamed 
about like savage wolves, robbing, biting, kill¬ 
ing, not only horses, sheep, and cattle, but also 
priests, acolytes, monks, and nuns. They went 
to Lindesfarena church, destroying everything 
in the most miserable manner, and trod the 
sanctuary with their profane feet, threw down 
the altars, robbed the treasury of the church, 
killed some of the brothers, carried others 
away in captivity, mocked many and flung them 
away naked, and threw some into the ocean. ’ 9 



The Viking Age 


23 


A flood of light has been thrown on the man¬ 
ners, customs, and activities of the vikings by 
the recent discovery of three ancient grave- 
ships — at Thune in Smaalene in 1867, at Gok- 
stad in the Sandefjord in 1880, and at Oseberg 
near Tonsberg in 1903. During the viking 
period it was the custom to bury important 
personages with their ships and their belong¬ 
ings, much after the fashion of the burial of 
Germanic kings with their war-steeds. The ex¬ 
traordinary preservation of the recovered vik¬ 
ing ships is probably due to the fact that they 
were embedded in blue potter’s clay. These 
ships are a feature of the historical museum 
of the University of Christiania. All three are 
trim-looking boats, with beautiful lines, and 
they seem admirably adapted both for speed 
and sea-worthiness. An exact replica of the 
Gokstad ship crossed the Atlantic in 1893 and 
was one of the objects of interest at the 
World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, 
thus proving that such hulls must have been 
thoroughly sea-worthy. 

The Gokstad viking ship, which is one of the 
lions of Christiania, belongs to the ninth cen¬ 
tury. Its length from stem to stern is 172 feet, 
the length of the keel 66 feet, the breadth 16 




24 


In Viking Land 


feet, and it could not have drawn more than 
three feet of water. Its considerable length in 
proportion to its width must have made it a 
fast sailer, and the flat bottom must have made 
it very steady at sea. It is built of clinch-oak 
sixteen strakes high, and the seventeen frames, 
which are about three feet apart on the keel, 
run only up to the eleventh strake, where the 
beams are joined to the side of the ship by 
knees. The frames are not fastened to the 
keel but are bound to the planking with the 
soft roots of trees. The garboard strake is 
fastened to the keel with iron bolts and the 
seams are caulked with yarn spun from cow’s 
hair. 

The Gokstad ship was apparently made for 
both sailing and rowing, as were most of the 
viking boats. About midship there is a keelson 
for the mast to which a large square sail was 
attached by means of a pulley. There are six¬ 
teen openings on each side for the oars. The 
rudder was placed on the right side, whence 
“ starboard/’ or steering side. It has been 
calculated that it had a crew of forty hands 
and that its carrying capacity was about thirty 
tons. The fact that the Gokstad ship gives 
such marked evidence of skilful workmanship 




The Viking Age 


25 


indicates that the vikings had attained a high 
degree of efficiency in the arts and crafts. 

By the side of the ship were found the bones 
of twelve horses and six dogs. These animals 
had been killed, apparently, that they might 
follow their master to the next world. The 
wives of the viking chiefs were sometimes 
killed and placed in the sepulchral chamber 
with their masters. Three smaller boats were 
found in the fore-hold of the Gokstad ship. 
They are from fifteen to twenty-five feet long 
and in most respects they resemble the boats 
used to-day in Nordland. Among the smaller 
articles found in this ship were some wooden 
plates, some copper cooking utensils, wooden 
spades, and sledges. As this ship had been 
opened and plundered it is safe to assume that 
the most valuable belongings of the dead viking 
had been removed. 

For some interesting facts on the manner of 
burial of the ancient vikings I am indebted 
to Dr. Ingvald Undset. When a viking died, a 
spot for his burial mound was chosen near the 
sea. His ship was drawn upon the beach by 
his horses; and, with the stern toward the 
ocean, it was partly imbedded in potter’s clay. 
The sepulchral chamber was then built of tim- 



26 


In Viking Land 


ber and the dead man, dressed in his best 
clothes, with his weapons and other valuable 
possessions, was placed therein. The chamber 
was then covered with birch bark. His horses 
and his dogs were killed and placed by the side 
of the ship, only his peacock — a memento of 
the dead viking’s foreign travels — had a place 
in the ship itself. Then the whole of the ship 
was covered with potter’s clay, with a layer 
of moss or twigs on the top, upon which the 
mound was raised. 

Of even greater interest is the Oseberg ship 
which was discovered in 1903 and placed in the 
University grounds at Christiania the past 
year (1907). The ship is entirely of oak and 
the timbers have kept so well that in the dam¬ 
aged portions of the boat it was possible to 
steam them and bend them back into their 
original shape. The Oseberg ship is about 70 
feet, 6 inches long and 16 feet, 6 inches broad. 
The sepulchral chamber is in the middle, as in 
the Gokstad ship, but much more solidly built. 
The ship is flat bottomed, has a fine sheer, but 
it was not built for long voyages. Its general 
structure indicates that it must have been a 
pleasure boat for use in the fjords and in the 
land-locked waters. The ship is highly orna- 





A MODERN NORDLAND BOAT. 



THE OSEBFRG SHIP. 












The Viking Age 


27 


mented and the abundance of ornamental ob¬ 
jects which it contained illustrate the art de¬ 
velopment of the viking period. The sepul¬ 
chral chamber contained the skeletons of two 
persons, both women. Professor Gustafson 
infers that one was a Norse woman of distinc¬ 
tion and the other a maid-servant who was 
forced to accompany her mistress in death. 

All sorts of feminine appliances were found 
in the Oseberg ship from weaving looms and 
spinning machines to balls of thread and wax. 
Buried with the ship were a four-wheeled 
vehicle, sledges, several beds, barge-boards, a 
millstone, kitchen utensils, and oak chests, 
which contained decayed textiles, quilts, pil¬ 
lows, etc. There was a round staff with runes 
carved on it, a well-preserved anchor, and other 
articles of the ship’s furniture. The skeletons 
of horses, oxen, and dogs were found beside 
the ship. The Oseberg viking boat belongs to 
about the year 800 and is thus eleven hundred 
years old. 



CHAPTER III 


UNDER THE OLD NORSE KINGS 


Norway one of the oldest sovereign states — Viking age the 
beginning of recorded history — The first Olaf — Harald the 
Fair-Haired — Norse colonization — Haakon the Good the 
first Christian king — Harald Grayfell and his brothers — 
Earl Haakon and paganism — The romantic career of Olaf 
Trygvesson — Adoption of Christianity — Discovery and 
settlement of North America — Picturesque career of Olaf 
the Saint — Consequences of a vigorous policy — Magnus 
the Good and Harald the Hard-Ruler — Olaf the Quiet and 
the arts of peace — Magnus the Bare-Leg and the Scotch 
islands — The illegitimate sons of Magnus — Eyestein and 
industrial development — A century of strife — The Birch- 
legs and the triumph of the peasants — Sverre Sigurdsson, 
Norway’s greatest king—Haakon Haakonsson the Old — A 
succession of weak rulers — The Hanseatic league — The 
“ Black Death ” — Union with Denmark and Sweden. 


Norway is one of the oldest sovereign states 
in Europe. When Harald the Fair-Haired 
(872) overcame the numerous earls and king¬ 
lets of the country and federated them into the 
Norse kingdom, Alfred the Great had occupied 
the throne of England less than a year; Russia 
was merely a principality; the recently organ¬ 
ized Holy Roman Empire was already going 
to pieces; Denmark was, however, in existence 


28 


Under the Old Norse Kings 


29 


and shares with England the primacy among 
the nations of Europe that have had an un¬ 
broken history of more than a thousand years. 

Before the historic period Norse history is 
largely traditional. It was not until the North¬ 
men “ broke like a destructive tempest over 
civilized lands, spreading destruction in their 
path,” that the country came to have a recog¬ 
nized place in authentic history. According to 
the “ Sagas of the Norse Kings ” the earliest 
rulers of the land traced their ancestry to the 
god Frey. For many years Norway was 
divided among a number of earls or kinglets 
who governed mutually independent tribes, 
took command in local wars, and directed the 
worship of the gods. Each tribe made its own 
laws and settled its own disputes. Fjone, Aun, 
Anund, and Ingjald are the names of some of 
the early rulers. The first earldom originated 
in the Trondhjem fjord, where eight tribes 
were federated with a common worship and 
administration of justice. 

The first Olaf, son of Ingjald, ruled during 
the middle of the seventh century. He was 
succeeded by Halfdan, the White-Leg, who aug¬ 
mented his earldom by the conquest of the 
fertile Vestfold district in the Christiania 




30 


In Viking Land 


fjord. Godfrey the Hunter and Halfdan the 
Swarthy follow the line of viking rulers. Earl 
Halfdan was a man of great intelligence and 
gave the people a code of laws which did much 
to unify the southern districts of Norway. 

From the time of Harald the Fair-Haired 
(860) the records of Norwegian history are 
a trifle more authentic. He forced the earls 
in the northern provinces to acknowledge his 
over-lordship, hut in their own provinces he 
permitted them to administer justice, collect 
taxes, and maintain petty armies subject to his 
command. The system of land-tenure was 
changed, the peasants being deprived of their 
farms, and all land was declared the property 
of the king. He likewise introduced a personal 
tax, which the peasants derisively nicknamed 
the “ nose tax; ” but during his long reign of 
sixty years he made for Norway a large place 
on the map of Europe. 

It was during the reign of Harald the Fair- 
Haired (860-930) that Norse colonization, re¬ 
lated in the previous chapter, attained such 
great activity. The Norsemen went in consid¬ 
erable numbers to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, 
the Hebrides, the Orkney and Shetland Isles, 
England, Ireland, France, Italy, and America. 


i 




Under the Old Norse Kings 


31 


Sea-robbery was strictly forbidden by Harald 
in bis own kingdom, but against foreign coun¬ 
tries the ravages of the vikings were regarded 
as thoroughly legitimate and as occupations 
becoming for warriors and gentlemen. 

The sons of Harald were contentious and 
they did not make it easy for him to hold his 
throne. He had a very large family, for he led 
a loose sort of life, but the best of his male 
heirs sailed away to France, England, and Italy 
to make their fortunes. Eric the Blood-Axe 
(930-935), while an accomplished sea-rover, 
ruled less wisely than his father. By an unfor¬ 
tunate marriage, says a chronicler, “ he weak¬ 
ened all that was good in him and strengthened 
all that was bad.” He was deposed by 
his youngest brother, Haakon the Good (935- 
961), who had been carefully brought up 
by King Athelstan of England. The first 
of the Haakons well deserves his sir name, for 
he was not only a brilliant and successful ruler, 
but also a good king. He greatly improved the 
laws and the military affairs of his kingdom; 
and he published a decree in 950 abolishing the 
old faith and forbidding sacrifice to its gods. 
He had embraced Christianity in England and 
he imported a bishop and some priests from 



32 


In Viking Land 

that country to teach his people the new faith. 
The opposition to the Christian religion, how¬ 
ever, was very pronounced; and, at a confer¬ 
ence of the peasants held at Trondhjem, it be¬ 
came apparent to the king that it would be folly 
to attempt to give force to his decree. His 
subjects assured him of their loyalty and good 
will, but they made it clear that they did not 
intend to give up the gods of their fathers. 
Much against his wishes, but in order to ap¬ 
pease his heathen subjects, Haakon partici¬ 
pated in their sacrifices and presided at 
their sacrificial feast. Having been mortally 
wounded in a battle with the Danes, one of his 
faithful followers offered to take his body to 
England where it would receive a Christian 
burial; but the dying king made reply: ‘ 4 Hav¬ 
ing lived like a heathen, it is meet that I should 
be buried like a heathen.” And in heathen 
fashion he was buried. Snorre Sturlasson, the 
Icelandic historian, tells us that the sorrow at 
his death was great and universal. “ He was 
lamented by both friends and enemies, and they 
said that never again would Norway see such 
a king.” 

Haakon the Good having died without male 
issue, Harald Grayfell and his brothers (961- 





Under the Old Norse Kings 33 


970), sons of Eric the Blood-Axe and the 
wicked Gunhild, took charge of the kingdom. 
But as they had been reared in Denmark, they 
filled their court with Danish warriors, and 
took no pains to win the favour of their Nor¬ 
wegian subjects. Their mother, too, egged 
them on to cruel and treacherous deeds, and 
they soon forfeited the loyalty of their people 
and lost their crown. The fact that they had 
been baptized and brought up in' the Christian 
faith and that they refrained from sacrifices to 
the heathen gods, augmented the unpopularity 
due to their misgovernment, and they were by 
common consent deposed. 

Earl Haakon (970-995), who followed with 
a long and relatively prosperous reign, was the 
last royal champion of paganism in Norway. 
He was a zealous pagan, but in an unequal 
struggle with Denmark and Germany, he was 
defeated and was forced to submit to Christian 
baptism and to consent to the introduction of 
the new faith in his kingdom. Departing from 
Copenhagen with a ship load of priests, he had 
not proceeded many miles when he put the 
priests ashore and made a grand sacrificial 
feast to overcome the effect of his recent bap¬ 
tism. He was a great church builder, remarks 




34 


In Viking Land 


the old chronicler, having repaired many hea¬ 
then temples, manufactured many splendid 
idols, with much gilding and artistic ornament, 
— in particular one huge image of Thor, not 
forgetting the hammer and appendages, as was 
never seen before in all Norway. A modern 
Norse historian pays the second Haakon this 
tribute: 4 4 He was a man of great natural en¬ 
dowment, fearless yet prudent, formidable in 
battle, and in his earlier years justly popular 
for his kindliness and liberality. Morally, he 
was, barring the profligacy of his later days, a 
legitimate product of the old Germanic pagan¬ 
ism and the conditions of life which must of 
necessity prevail in a militant community. ’’ 
The career of Olaf Trygvesson (995-1000) 
although brief, was in some respects the most 
romantic in Norse history. He was a scion of 
the race of Harald the Fair-Haired, who as an 
infant had been taken by his mother first to 
Sweden and later to Russia to escape the mur¬ 
derous decrees first of the wicked Gunhild and 
then of Earl Haakon. The ship in which the 
young prince and his mother took passage for 
Russia was captured by vikings and they were 
both sold into slavery. After six years of ser¬ 
vitude in Esthonia Olaf’s identity was discov- 




Under the Old Norse Kings 35 


ered, and he was taken to the court of Russia, 
where he was educated. He was trained in the 
use of arms, athletic sports, and other matters 
proper in the education of the son of a king; 
and in early manhood he served for several 
years in a naval capacity in one of the Baltic 
provinces of Russia. At the age of twenty-one 
years he journeyed to Greece, where he was 
baptized according to the Christian rite, after 
which, in search of more adventure, he visited 
in succession France, Denmark, Scotland, and 
England. The Anglo-Saxon annals tell us that 
in 994, with a great viking fleet, he ravaged the 
south coast of England and that King Ethelred 
II. was forced to pay him ten thousand pounds 
as immunity from further depredations. With 
the downfall of Earl Haakon in 995, he was 
proclaimed the rightful sovereign of Norway 
and was crowned at Trondhjem. 

King Olaf was by nature admirably adapted 
for the great task which fell to him — the es¬ 
tablishment of Christianity in Norway. He 
was zealous for the new faith and uncompro¬ 
mising in his opposition to the old religion. 
Like Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, he 
did not hesitate to use the sword and fire when 
more gentle means were of no avail. 11 He 




36 


In Viking Land 


wasted no time in weighing the probabilities 
of success or failure,” says a Norse historian, 
“ but, in the conviction of the sanctity of his 
cause, stormed resistlessly onward, and, by his 
impetuosity and ardour, bore down all oppo¬ 
sition.” Nominally, at least, he made the Nor¬ 
wegians Christians. Many, however, while pub¬ 
licly renouncing the old religion and accepting 
baptism, continued privately to make sacrifices. 
The Christian priests themselves, we are told, 
professed belief in Odin and Thor, but repre¬ 
sented them as evil powers who had been con¬ 
quered by Christ. Paganism was more per¬ 
sistent in the northern than in the southern 
provinces, but when the first Olaf met his death 
in 1000, the new faith was on a tolerably sound 
footing in the Norse kingdom. 

Eric and Svein Haakonsson (1000-1015), 
sons of Earl Haakon, succeeded King Olaf. 
Perhaps the most significant event of their 
reign was the discovery of the North American 
continent by Leif, son of Eric the Ked, an ad¬ 
venturous Norwegian viking. An Icelander in 
a voyage to Greenland had been blown from his 
course in a storm and had visited a coast that 
had no glaciers. Assuming that this coast must 
be some new land, Leif, with a crew of thirty- 




Under the Old Norse Kings 37 


five men, sailed for the undiscovered west in 
the year 1000. That he discovered the conti¬ 
nent of North America nearly five hundred 
years before the time of Christopher Columbus 
is now an accepted historic fact. The coast of 
Massachusetts is supposed to be the part of 
the country where Leif and his men landed and 
spent the winter. The statement, that the sun 
rose in this region on the shortest day of the 
year at half-past seven and set at half-past 
four, indicating a latitude of 41°, 24' and 10", 
has led geographers to conclude that the party 
must have landed in the region of Cape Cod or 
the site of the present city of Fall River. Be¬ 
cause of the abundance of grapes they named 
the new country Vineland. 

A second expedition to Vineland, numbering 
one hundred and six persons, under an Ice¬ 
landic explorer, was organized in 1006 with the 
intention of establishing a permanent Norse 
colony in the new world; but the hostility of 
the strange natives, who came to them in 
“ light boats made of skin/’ the massacre of 
a number of the colonists, and the perpetual 
state of insecurity disheartened the surviving 
Norsemen; and, after a sojourn of a little less 




38 


In Viking Land 


than three years, they determined to return to 
their old homes. 

If Olaf Trygvesson is the most romantic fig¬ 
ure in Norse history, Olaf Haraldsson is the 
most picturesque. During his life-time he was 
called Olaf the Thick-Set, but after his death 
and canonization Olaf the Saint. He ruled Nor¬ 
way with an iron hand for fourteen years (1016- 
1030). The country was in bad condition; the 
laws had been laxly administered; national 
taxes had been usurped by the lesser nobility; 
the earls were in a chronic state of insubordi¬ 
nation; and the Christian religion, which had 
been formally adopted, had not displaced 
paganism in the hearts of the people. On land 
they worshipped the god of the Christians, but 
at sea Thor, “ whom they considered safer in 
that element.’’ The strong arm and the clear 
brain of a really great king not only placed 
Christianity on a firm basis but gave the king¬ 
dom of Norway an international prominence 
which it had not hitherto enjoyed. The ad¬ 
ministration of justice was reformed, abuses 
in the misappropriation of taxes corrected, and 
the scattered and rebellious earls federated 
into a strong and unified kingdom. 

In spite of a mockish piety which the legends 




39 


Under the Old Norse Kings 

of later times have associated with the name of 
the second Olaf, he seems to have been su¬ 
premely human in character and conduct and 
eminently sane and practical in the adminis¬ 
tration of governmental affairs. Professor 
Boyesen adds in this connection: “ He was, in 
spite of his later sainthood, a strong-willed, 
ambitious, and worldly-wise man; far-seeking 
in his plans, business-like in his methods, re¬ 
lentless in his hates, ruthless in his punish¬ 
ments. His severity, which the sagas comment 
upon, was never wanton, but was in proportion 
to the magnitude of the offence. Robbers, 
thieves, and vikings, who plundered within the 
land, he punished with death, no matter 
whether their birth was high or low; because 
the extirpation of the old predatory spirit, with 
its internecine feuds, was the first condition 
for the establishment of a united nationality.” 

The brief reign of Svend Alfifasson (1030- 
1035) was inconsequential. Magnus Olafsson, 
known in Norse history as Magnus the Good 
(1035-1047), was an illegitimate son of Olaf 
the Saint. According to one authority his 
mother was the queen’s laundress; according 
to another she was an English woman of gentle 
birth; but illegitimacy was so common at the 





40 


In Viking Land 


time that it was no barrier to political prefer¬ 
ment. By inheritance Magnus also became 
king of Denmark during the last five years of 
his reign. He died at the early age of twenty- 
four and the only remaining descendant in the 
male line was Harald Sigurdsson, a half- 
brother of Olaf the Saint. He acquired the 
title of Harald the Hard-Ruler (1047-1066). 

Harald made it the business of his reign to 
break the power of the tribal aristocracy and 
to centralize all authority in the king. The 
ruthlessness with which he carried out his pro¬ 
gram won for him the surname of tyrant or 
hard-hearted. In the “ Sagas of the Norse 
Kings ’ ’ this tribute is paid him: ‘ ‘ He was ex¬ 
tremely intelligent, so that all men are agreed 
that there has never been a more intelligent 
king in the North. Moreover, he was an ex¬ 
cellent swordsman, strong and skilled in the art 
of war, and altogether a man who knew how to 
accomplish his purpose .’’ It may be added 
that he was keenly interested in poetry and 
letters and that he customarily abbreviated his 
sleep periods that he might have more time to 
listen to the recitals of his blind Icelandic scald. 
He tried to conquer England, but fell at Stan¬ 
ford Bridge shortly before the Norman con- 





Under the Old Norse Kings 


41 


quest in 1066. “ In spite of tlie discontent of 
the chiefs,’’ says a Norse historian, “ Norway 
took great strides during his reign towards a 
settled internal condition. The tribes were 
welded into a people, and in every branch of 
administration the king’s strong hand was felt. 
His wars, though in one sense disastrous, 
tended, on the whole, to give Norway a secure 
place among the nations.” 

Olaf the Quiet (1066-1093) differed in all 
respects from his predecessors. The sagas tell 
us that he was “ a slim-built, witty-talking, 
popular and pretty man, with uncommonly 
bright eyes and hair like floss silk ” but that 
his rule was soft and gentle. He cultivated the 
arts of peace and devoted his energies to the 
intellectual improvement of his people. It is 
indicative of the spirit of the times that his¬ 
torians, whose highest ideals consisted in war 
and the slaughter of human beings, have only 
a few pages for the long reign of a king who 
“ inclined rather to improvement in the arts 
and elegancies than to anything severe or dan¬ 
gerously laborious.” 

Magnus the Bare-Leg (1093-1103), seeing 
that the conquest of England was altogether 
impossible, devoted his energies to the amal- 




42 


In Viking Land 


gamation of tlie Orkneys, the Hebrides and his 
other Scotch possessions. After one of his 
expeditions to Scotland he appeared upon the 
streets of Trondhjem in a Highland costume, 
“ the authentic tartan plaid and philibeg of 
that epoch,” and his subjects, not accustomed 
to the kilts of Scotland, nicknamed him the 
bare-leg. In an unsuccessful effort to conquer 
Ireland, he was defeated by King Murdog of 
that country and was killed in a battle fought 
near Connaught. 

Three illegitimate sons of Magnus were de¬ 
clared rulers of Norway; and, oddly enough, 
they reigned peacefully together. Eyestein 
(1103-1122) was fourteen years old when his 
father was killed, Sigurd the Crusader (1103- 
1130) was thirteen, and Olaf Magnusson (1103- 
1115) was four. As this was the period of the 
crusade movement, when Europe was waging 
a holy war for plunder and for fame against 
the unbelievers, Sigurd with a fleet of sixty 
ships and ten thousand men sailed away to the 
Holy Land and took the strongly fortified city 
of Sidon which had hitherto defied the efforts 
of the crusaders. 

In striking contrast to his brother, Eyestein 
remained quietly at home building churches, 



Under the Old Norse Kings 


43 


encouraging commerce, developing local indus¬ 
tries, and improving the laws of the land. He 
caused primitive liglit-houses to be erected 
along the dangerous western coast; reorgan¬ 
ized the fisheries and made them a source of 
national wealth; built taverns on the high 
Doverfjeld plateau to facilitate travel, and 
erected important churches at Bergen, Trond- 
hjem, and elsewhere. Olaf died in 1115 and at 
the death of Eyestein in 1122 Sigurd was left 
sole ruler of the kingdom; but he had under¬ 
mined his health in youthful dissipations, and 
his closing years were darkened by mental 
illness. 

A century of strife followed the death of 
Sigurd. This was caused by the claims of a 
long line of descendants of former kings — 
some legitimate but many born out of wedlock. 
The parliament at Christiania — then called 
Oslo — placed Magnus the Blind (1130-1135), 
a son of Sigurd, on the throne; but a son of 
Magnus the Bare-Leg by an Irish woman came 
to Norway and laid claim to half the kingdom. 
This was Harald Gille (1130-1136). In the 
strife that followed he defeated Magnus, put 
his eyes out, cut off one of his legs, and sub¬ 
jected him to still more revolting mutilations. 




44 


In Viking Land 


Neither Magnus nor Harald had kingly quali¬ 
ties. The former was “ a coarse, avaricious, 
and arrogant royster, addicted to drink and 
incapable of any noble impulse,” and the lat¬ 
ter “ a weak and vacillating man, jolly, lib¬ 
eral, and easy going, in whom the Irish char¬ 
acteristics predominated. ’ ’ 

The unworthy Harald, however, did not live 
long to enjoy his ill-gotten kingdom. Sigurd 
the Bad-Priest, another reputed illegitimate 
son of Magnus the Bare-Leg, arrived in Nor¬ 
way during the summer of 1136. He had led 
an adventurous life in the Orkneys; had visited 
Rome and the Holy Land, and had taken orders 
for the priesthood. In an attempt which 
Harald made on the life of Sigurd the king 
was killed. Sigurd then called together the 
leading men and asked them to make him king; 
but contrary to expectations, the deed caused 
keen indignation, he was forced to flee, and 
Harald ? s sons ruled Norway for twenty-four 
years (1137-1161). 

Sigurd, the younger, was only five years old 
when his father was killed and Inge less than 
two. But the national assembly recognized 
them as the rightful rulers. Norway, however, 
continued disturbed by the frequent arrival of 




Under the Old Norse Kings 45 


illegitimate claimants from Scotland, Ireland, 
and elsewhere, and later by the unbrotherly 
fends of Sigurd and Inge. In 1155 Sigurd was 
surprised in his house and slain by a conspira¬ 
tor of Inge, but no one mourned his death. On 
the contrary, “ men whose wives he had in¬ 
sulted, eager for vengeance, ran his body 
through with their swords.” He was only 
twenty-one years old at the time of his death, 
but he left behind a long line of pretenders who 
claimed him as their father and who disturbed 
the peace of Norway for more than half a cen¬ 
tury. 

Inge lost his life in the civil wars, and 
Haakon Sigurdsson, called Haakon the Broad- 
Shoulders (1161-1162), ruled but eighteen 
months and was followed by Magnus Erlings- 
son (1162-1184). During this period the clergy 
appear as dominant factors in the political life 
of Norway. At a meeting held at Bergen a 
change was made in the fundamental law of 
the land. The crown of Norway was declared 
the property and heritage of Olaf the Saint, 
and at the death of the reigning king the bish¬ 
ops were empowered to name his successor 
from among the heirs born in wedlock. 

The next claimant to disturb the quiet of 



46 


In Viking Land 

King Magnus and the clergy was one Eyestein, 
a reputed grandson of Harald Gille. During 
the century of civil strife, a ragged and inco¬ 
herent army had been formed among the peas¬ 
ants, and these soldiers of fortune, always with 
an eye on possible plunder, had generally given 
their aid to the pretender that promised most. 
They wore birch-bark for shoes and were de¬ 
risively called the “ Birchlegs.” They were 
ill fed, ill trained, and ill equipped; but, adds 
a historian of the period, “ the discipline of 
hardship and danger which their arduous lives 
had imposed upon them stood them in good 
stead; and, insignificant as they were in num¬ 
bers, they were not a foe to be despised.” 
Eyestein and his Birchlegs were, however, 
overwhelmingly defeated in 1176 and the pre¬ 
tender was slain. 

Magnus did not long enjoy his triumph. A 
year later there came to Norway from the 
Faroe islands one Sverre Sigurdsson, a re¬ 
puted son of King Sigurd and a Scotch do¬ 
mestic, and he laid claim to his alleged 
heritage. With the aid of the Birchlegs he 
waged for seven years a fierce guerilla war 
against the combined royal and clerical forces, 
with all the odds against him, but he won in the 








THE N/EKO FJORD 





Under the Old Norse Kings 


47 


end. The contest was not merely the struggle 
of the rightful heir to the Norse throne to hold 
his seat against the doubtful claims of a pre¬ 
tender. It was, as Munk has pointed out, a 
struggle between the representatives of the old 
order of things — a monarchy deriving its 
power and support from a privileged aristoc¬ 
racy — and the lower orders of society — an 
uncouth and hungry democracy demanding its 
share of the good things of life. The final 
struggle took place in the Nsero fjord in 1184, 
when the king, the proud earls, and the flower 
of Norse aristocracy were sacrificed in the vain 
attempt to preserve the old order. 

It was the unconscious working of these 
forces combined with the dogged energy of 
William of Orange and the military genius of 
Napoleon that finally placed Sverre Sigurds- 
son (1184-1202) on the Norwegian throne. Be¬ 
ing a statesman and a man of honour, rather 
than a politician, he kept his promises with the 
Birchlegs. Men of low birth were given im¬ 
portant posts; fidelity and valour were re¬ 
warded, and Norse society was entirely reor¬ 
ganized on a democratic basis. 

The vanquished earls and dissatisfied clergy 
were not, however, silenced by defeat; they 





48 


In Viking Land 


continued the civil war during the eighteen 
years that Sverre reigned, but the great king 
died unconquered. He was undoubtedly, as 
Professor Boyesen has affirmed, u the greatest 
king who has ever ruled over Norway. A 
bright, clear, and resolute spirit dwelt within 
his small frame. His presence of mind and 
his wonderful fertility of resources saved him 
out of the most desperate situations. Firm¬ 
ness and gentleness were admirably united in 
his character. A clear-sighted policy, based 
upon expediency as well as upon conviction, 
governed his actions from the beginning of his 
reign to the end. He possessed the faculty of 
attaching men to him, even when he punished 
them and restrained their lawless passions. 
Though he did not possess the beauty nor the 
magnificent physical presence of the earlier 
kings of Norway, he knew how to inspire re¬ 
spect as well as love.” 

Sverre’s son, Haakon Sverresson (1202- 
1204), during his brief reign made peace with 
the church without loss of dignity; for the 
bishops, weary of their long years of exile and 
dependence upon foreign bounty, were glad 
to return to their benefices. Guthorm Sigurds- 
son (1204), who succeeded Haakon, lived less 




Under the Old Norse Kings 


49 


than a year, and he was followed by Inge 
Baardsson (1204-1217). 

Haakon Haakonsson the Old (1217-1263), a 
grandson of King Sverre, followed with a long 
and prosperous reign. He crushed the rebel¬ 
lious factions raised by the clergy and slew 
the last of the claimants they supported. Like 
his illustrious grandfather he was a great king, 
although his career was less brilliant. He was 
possessed of great good sense and was a thor¬ 
oughly safe ruler; firm and resolute when 
justice demanded severity, he was supremely 
strong in the art of forgiving. Iceland and 
Greenland were more closely federated with 
Norway during his reign. Pope Alexander IV 
urged his election as emperor of Germany and 
Louis IX of France, in view of his great ex¬ 
perience on the seas, offered him the command 
of one of his crusades to the Holy Land. Dis~ 
turbances which had broken out between Alex¬ 
ander III, king of Scotland, and Haakon’s sub¬ 
jects in the Orkneys called him hither, where he 
died in 1263. 

With the reign of Magnus the Law-Mender 
(1263-1280) there began a gradual decline in 
Norway which culminated in the Kalmar union 
a century later and the virtual loss of Norse 




50 


In Viking Land 


independence. The differences with Alexander 
III were terminated by ceding the Isle of Man 
and the Shetland islands to Scotland for four 
thousand marks sterling and an annual tribute 
of one hundred marks. Magnus devoted his 

i 

energies to matters of legislation, improvement 
of the economic conditions of the rural dis¬ 
tricts, curtailment of the power of the clergy, 
and reconciliation with the aristocracy. 

Eric the Priest-Hater (1280-1299), a lad in 
his early teens, succeeded his father. The 
queen-dowager, who was the virtual ruler dur¬ 
ing her son’s minority, made common cause 
with the earls and enabled them to regain priv¬ 
ileges and influence at the expense of the king. 
Eric married Margaret of Scotland, the daugh¬ 
ter of his grandfather’s enemy; but she died 
a year later in giving birth to a daughter who 
was acknowledged as the rightful heir of Scot¬ 
land after the death of Alexander III. King 
Edward I of England disputed the child’s 
claims and Eric was forced to withdraw the 
candidacy of his daughter. Eric married a 
second time to Isabella Bruce, a sister of Kob- 
ert Bruce, later king of Scotland. It was dur¬ 
ing the reign of Eric that the Hanseatic league 
obtained a monopoly of the foreign trade of 



Under the Old Norse Kings 


51 


Norway. An account of this transaction and 
its effect on Norse history will be given in a 
later chapter devoted to “ Bergen and the 
Hanseatic league.’’ 

Haakon the Long-Legs (1299-1319), the sec¬ 
ond son of Magnus the Law-Mender, succeeded 
his brother. In a bitter struggle with the 
haughty nobles Haakon wrested from them 
their recently acquired privileges; but with 
his death the male line of the race of Harald 
the Fair-Haired became extinct. 

By his marriage with Isabella Bruce, King 
Eric had a daughter who became the wife of 
Duke Valdemar, a brother of the king of Swe¬ 
den. Magnus Ericsson (1319-1374), the next 
king of Norway, was the child of this union. 
But as he was only three years old when 
Haakon died, the government of Norway fell 
into the hands of a regency. Shortly after¬ 
wards the king of Sweden was deposed for his 
cruelties and the lad Magnus was also declared 
king of Sweden. Thus the two countries were 
for the first time united. The union was 
merely nominal, for the young king was at 
heart a Swede and he took little interest in his 
Norwegian kingdom. The Norse people in 
1350 forced him to take his second son Haakon 




52 


In Viking Land 


(1350-1381) as co-regent and to agree to abdi¬ 
cate the crown of Norway as soon as the lad 
reached his majority. Haakon subsequently 
married the daughter of the king of Denmark 
and their son Olaf inherited the three Scandi¬ 
navian kingdoms. 

The long reign of Magnus brought only mis¬ 
fortune to the Norsemen; their country was 
neglected; some of the southern provinces 
were lost to Denmark; the Gula river suddenly 
changed its course, owing to the fall of an 
enormous rock in its bed, killing two hundred 
and fifty people and destroying forty farms; 
the great eruption of Hekla and the earthquake 
in Iceland spread terror throughout the king¬ 
dom ; and the ‘ 6 Black Death, ’ ’ which had been 
ravaging central and southern Europe, was 
brought to Bergen by a merchant vessel, and in 
many districts it swept away the entire popu¬ 
lation. The Yalders, one of the beautiful 
mountain valleys, was almost depopulated by 
the plague. Industries stagnated; commerce 
was in the hands of the Germans, and the pop¬ 
ulation of Norway was reduced by one-third. 

At the death of Haakon his son Olaf the 
Young (1381-1387) was proclaimed king of 
Norway; but as he had already been pro- 






IN THE VALDERS 








Under the Old Norse Kings 53 


claimed king of Denmark the kingdoms were 
united, or rather Norway was subordinated to 
the rank of a province; and for the next four 
hundred and thirty-four years the political 
history of Norway is simply the history of 
Denmark. The events of this union, so far at 
least as they relate to Norway, will be told in 
the next chapter. 




CHAPTER IV 


UNION WITH DENMARK AND SWEDEN 


Queen Margaret and the union of Norway, Sweden, and Den¬ 
mark — Provisions of the Kalmar union — The weakness of 
King Eric — Withdrawal of Sweden from the union — Loss 
of the Scotch islands — Oppressions of the Danish kings — 
The Protestant reformation and the adoption of the 
Lutheran religion — Seven years’ war with Sweden — 
Misery in Norway under Frederick IV — German Puritan¬ 
ism — Norway separated from Denmark and united with 
Sweden — The Eidsvold constitution — Conflicts between 
king and parliament — Oscar I and Oscar II — Events which 
culminated in the rupture with Sweden. 


The union of the three Scandinavian king¬ 
doms , referred to in the last chapter, was of 
brief duration, for Olaf died at the early age 
of seventeen. Margaret, his mother, was pro¬ 
claimed queen until a new king might be 
elected. She secured the election of her 
nephew, Eric of Pomerania, to the Norwegian 
crown, but on the condition that he should not 
be made king during her lifetime. Denmark 
confirmed the action of Norway, but the Swedes 
selected Albrecht. Margaret accordingly in¬ 
vaded Sweden, defeated Albrecht at Falkop- 

54 


With Denmark and Sweden 


55 


ing (1389), and forced him to pay a ransom of 
sixty thousand marks. The Semiramis of the 
North had now reached the goal of her desire 
and she might have worn the triple crown; but 
she unexpectedly changed her mind and de¬ 
clared that she wished to see Eric crowned 
during her lifetime. She summoned a diet 
of the three kingdoms at Kalmar in 1397, and 
Eric was proclaimed king of united Scandi¬ 
navia. 

The Kalmar union provided (1) that the 
three kingdoms were to be eternally united 
under one king; (2) if the king died without 
issue, the representatives of the three nations 
were to come together and peacefully elect a 
successor; (3) each kingdom was to be gov¬ 
erned by its own laws and customs, but if one 
of the kingdoms was attacked the other two 
should, in good faith, assist in its defence; (4) 
the king and his councillors should have the 
right to enter into foreign alliances, and what¬ 
ever they agreed upon should be binding upon 
the three countries. 

When one recalls the enormous loss to the 
three kingdoms through incessant internecine 
wars, the Kalmar union would seem an unmis¬ 
takable blessing to all. The three nations were 





56 


In Viking Land 


of the same ethnic stock; they had a common 
religion; they understood without effort each 
other’s language; social and economic condi¬ 
tions were not dissimilar in the three king¬ 
doms. “ Under a wise and far-sighted pol¬ 
icy,” remarks Professor Boyesen, “ the society 
of the three kingdoms could have been grad¬ 
ually amalgamated; its similarities and com¬ 
mon interests emphasized; its differences 
slowly obliterated. If the kings of the union 
had had the slightest conception of the task 
that was presented to them, and had been capa¬ 
ble of viewing themselves apart from their 
Danish nationality, such results might have 
been achieved. But they were, with a single 
exception, utterly destitute of political ability 
and foresight. They were determined to raise 
the Danish to the position of a dominant na¬ 
tionality, and to reduce Norway and Sweden 
to a provincial relation.” 

Eric was weak, incompetent, and cruel, and 
he soon alienated his Swedish and Norwegian 
subjects. Margaret had bequeathed to him a 
war with the dukes of Sleswick which dragged 
along for twenty-three years, to meet the ex¬ 
penses of which he levied heavy taxes which 
the people of Sweden promptly refused to pay. 




With Denmark and Sweden 


57 


His rule grew so burdensome that he was de¬ 
posed by the parliaments of Sweden and Den¬ 
mark — and later by Norway — and he es¬ 
caped from Copenhagen with what money was 
in the treasury and spent the balance of his 
life as a pirate. Christopher of Bavaria, “ a 
jolly and good-natured man who had no apti¬ 
tude for state affairs,’’ was given the triple 
crown. He made a vain attempt to curtail the 
monopoly of the Hanseatic league, and for this 
one effort he is remembered by the Norwegians 
with gratitude. 

With the death of Christopher in 1448 the 
Kalmar union was practically at an end. The 
Danes elected Christian I of Oldenburg (1448- 
1483) and the Norwegians did likewise ; but 
the Swedes selected Karl Knutsson, who soon 
made himself obnoxious to the Swedish clergy 
and he was forced to abdicate. Christian be¬ 
came sole ruler of Scandinavia in 1450. He 
inherited the dukedoms of Holstein and Sles- 
wick from his uncle, and thus became the king 
of a vast empire, for the good government of 
which he had neither the inclination nor the 
ability. 

Norway suffered most. The country was in¬ 
vaded and plundered by the Russians and the 




58 


In Viking Land 


Karelians; the greedy Hanseatic league grew 
increasingly oppressive; the king broke his 
promise and sent Danish noblemen to Norway 
to whom he granted unlimited privileges; the 
Norwegians were misgoverned and they suf¬ 
fered in a hundred ways; and, to cap matters, 
the impoverished king pawned the Orkney and 
the Shetland islands and gave up the annual 
tribute from the Hebrides to James III as the 
dower which his daughter Margaret was re¬ 
quired to take to the Scotch king. The pawn 
was never redeemed and these ancient depen¬ 
dencies were lost to Norway. 

The Swedes did not submit so readily to 
Christian’s shameless breaches of faith, and 
in 1464 they recalled Karl Knutsson to their 
throne. He was again banished but again re¬ 
called, and he died as king of Sweden in 1470. 
The Swedes, however, did not completely free 
themselves from the obnoxious Kalmar union 
until 1503. 

Christian was succeeded by his son Hans 
(1483-1513), who spent the first half of his 
reign in trying to force the Swedes back into 
the union. Christian II (1513-1523) was forced 
by the nobility — Denmark being an elective 
kingdom — to grant to them practically all of 





With Denmark and Sweden 


59 


his powers, and their rule was more oppressive 
than that of Christian I had been. “ Their 
principle of government/’ says a historian of 
the period, “ was that of a hawk in a poultry 
yard. Whatever the citizens undertook for 
their advancement was checked by the inter¬ 
ference of the privileged classes; commerce 
and industry were discouraged, lest the bour¬ 
geoisie should gain power enough to assert it¬ 
self. The peasantry were given absolutely into 
the barons’ power, and their degradation was 
made complete by the so-called ‘ right of neck 
and hand ’ which Christian II granted as the 
price of his crown. By this concession the 
nobles acquired the right to sentence and pun¬ 
ish the peasants at their own discretion, with¬ 
out the intercession of the courts.” 

The king had, however, incurred the dis¬ 
pleasure of the powerful Hanseatic league and 
they forced him to abdicate and placed Fred¬ 
erick I of Holstein (1524-1533) on the throne. 
During his reign the reformatory religious 
doctrines of Martin Luther were adopted in 
Denmark. An interregnum of four years 
(1533-1537) followed the death of Frederick 
because of differences of opinion on the relig¬ 
ious question. Frederick’s eldest son was a 




60 


In Viking Land 


Protestant, but Hans, the younger, clung to the 
Roman Catholic faith. Civil war ensued; cit¬ 
ies were destroyed; noblemen were murdered; 
but the Protestant faith triumphed, and Chris¬ 
tian III (1537-1539) was elected king. 

Protestantism had not made great headway 
in Norway, and the zeal with which the Danish 
king imposed the doctrines of Luther upon his 
Norwegian subjects was not altogether to his 
credit. Church property was confiscated by 
the crown or granted to his royal favourites; 
Roman Catholic bishops and priests were ex¬ 
iled, and “ ex-soldiers, ex-sailors, bankrupt 
traders, and all sorts of vagabonds were 
thought to be good enough to preach the word 
of God in Norway.’’ Many of these unworthy 
spiritual teachers were promptly killed or 
driven from the country, so that at last 4 ‘ phys¬ 
ical strength became a prime requisite for hold¬ 
ing a pastorate in the Norse mountain valleys, 
and the surest road to popularity for a parson 
was to thrash the refractory members of his 
congregation. That inspired respect and in¬ 
clined the rest more favourably toward his 
preaching.” With the arrival of Bishop Gje- 
ble Pedersson at Bergen — the first Lutheran 
bishop to locate in the country — the character 




With Denmark and Sweden 


61 


and learning of the clergy improved and the 
new faith made rapid progress. 

Frederick II (1559-1588) was forced to fight 
a calamitous seven years ’ war with Sweden 
which sowed seeds of national hatred that con¬ 
tinued to grow and bear fruit. Trondhjem 
was captured by the Swedes; the cathedral at 
Hamar was burned, and the fertile districts of 
the Aker were ravaged. His successor, Chris¬ 
tian IV (1588-1648), for the first time since 
the formation of the union, gave evidence of 
royal interest in the welfare of the Norsemen. 
He travelled extensively in Norway, going as 
far north as the arctic circle; he imprisoned 
Danish officials who exceeded their rights; he 
codified and improved the laws of the land; 
he developed the silver mines at Kongsberg 
and the copper mines at Roros, and he founded 
the cities of Christiania and Christiansand. 
But the country suffered greatly by his par¬ 
ticipation in the Thirty Years ’ War, the inva¬ 
sion of the Norway by a band of Scotch mer¬ 
cenaries in the employment of the Swedish 
king, and a second war with Sweden which re¬ 
sulted in the loss of two Norwegian provinces 
— Jemtland and Herjedalen. 

During the reign of Frederick III (1648- 




62 


In Viking Land 


1670) new disasters befell Norway. Tbe ill- 
advised war with Sweden, on the supposition 
that the Swedish king had suffered a crushing 
defeat at the hands of the Poles, resulted in 
the loss of two more Norwegian provinces — 
Viken and Trondhjem. A subsequent revolt of 
the Tronders redeemed the latter province. 
The kingdom of Denmark up to this time had 
been elective, hence the dependence of succes¬ 
sive Danish rulers upon the caprice and selfish¬ 
ness of the nobles. Frederick, however, suc¬ 
ceeded in altering the constitution and in mak¬ 
ing Denmark hereditary, a change which im¬ 
proved not only the administrative service of 
that country, but of Norway also. 

The reign of Christian V (1670-1699) was 
not consequential. He imitated the costly and 
tawdry splendour of Louis XIV; sold indif¬ 
ferently his Danish and Norwegian subjects 
to foreign nations as mercenaries that he might 
get the money to ape the glittering vices of 
the French court, and he surrounded himself 
with German counts and made German the 
language of his court. 

Norway sank to the lowest depths of misery 
during the reign of Frederick IV (1699-1730). 
He sold the trade of Finmark, the northern- 




A MOUNTAIN LAKE 












- 































With Denmark and Sweden 


63 


most province of Norway, to three Danes who 
practised unlimited extortion on the helpless 
Lapps, and the churches of Norway he sold to 
private individuals, contending that if the 
parishioners owned them they must produce 
the deeds. 

German Puritanism greatly influenced the 
country in the reign of Christian VI (1730- 
1746). He introduced a rigid ceremonial at 
his court; enjoined the utmost rigour in church 
observances and abstention from worldly 
amusements; organized an efficient militia, and 
made education compulsory. But the decrees 
forbidding the southern provinces of Norway 
from purchasing supplies of grain in any coun¬ 
try but Denmark were both oppressive and 
disastrous to his Norwegian subjects. 

Some of the obnoxious Puritanical decrees 
were abolished by Frederick V (1746-1766), 
but he came within an ace of plunging his 
country into a hopeless war with Russia. 
Frederick promoted the commerce of Norway; 
imported skilled miners from Germany, and 
organized the national military academy at 
Christiania and the academy of science at 
Trondhjem. 

The country was ruled by the king’s minis- 




64 


In Viking Land 


ters during the reign of Christian VII (1766- 
1808); for as a prince he had bankrupted his 
vital forces by a life of wild dissipation and 
he became an imbecile shortly after reaching 
the throne. His ministers were, as a rule, wise 
autocrats. They improved and simplified the 
judicial procedure; abolished torture; granted 
freedom to the press; curtailed the privileges 
of the nobles, and husbanded the finances of the 
kingdom. 

The university at Christiania, which was 
founded during the reign of Frederick VI 
(1808-1836), is the most significant event of 
the period. Norway suffered greatly by the 
friction between Denmark and England. Dur¬ 
ing the American war of revolution the min¬ 
isters of Christian VII concluded an armed 
neutrality with Sweden and Bussia which bene¬ 
fited very directly the trade and navigation 
of Denmark and Norway. In the determina¬ 
tion of England, however, to break the power 
of Napoleon, she claimed the right of search¬ 
ing the ships of non-combatants for munitions 
of war. Many Danish and Norwegian vessels 
were captured by the British and trade was 
ruined by a blockade of the seaports. The 
government was too weak to defy England, 



With Denmark and Sweden 


65 


and Denmark was forced to retire from tlie 
armed neutrality. Frederick’s subsequent cul¬ 
tivation of the friendship of Napoleon was a 
great state blunder, for it isolated Denmark 
from the great European alliance which 
brought about the final defeat of the French 
usurper. 

Norway was governed by a so-called govern¬ 
ment commission, with the Prince of Augusten- 
burg at its head, during the period of difficulty 
between Denmark and England; and the Nor¬ 
wegians would have been much pleased if 
this arrangement might have continued. But a 
clause in a treaty between Russia and Sweden, 
made in 1812, ordained an altogether different 
fate for the hardy Norsemen. Sweden had 
been forced to yield Finland to Russia, and 
to make good this loss Russia suggested that 
she grab Norway. The treaty of Kiel in 1814 
gave the sanction of the Great Powers of Eu¬ 
rope to this crime; and the union of Denmark 
and Norway, which had existed for more than 
four hundred years, was dissolved. 

The Norwegians protested, but there was no 
appeal from the decisions of the Great Powers, 
no matter how unjust, and they were finally 
forced into union with Sweden. After a bit of 



66 


In Viking Land 


sparring, Bernadotte, later Charles XIV John, 
on behalf of King Charles XIII of Sweden, 
consented to recognize the independence of 
Norway and to govern the country in accord¬ 
ance with a constitution that had been adopted 
at Eidsvold the 17tli of May, 1814. 

The Eidsvold constitution provided (1) that 
Norway should be a limited, hereditary mon¬ 
archy, independent and indivisible, whose ruler 
shall be called a king; (2) the people shall ex¬ 
ercise the legislative power through their rep¬ 
resentatives ; (3) taxes can be levied only by 
the representatives of the people ; (4) the king 
shall have the right to declare war and make 
peace; (5) he shall also have the right of par¬ 
don; (6) the judicial power shall be separated 
from the executive and legislative power; (7) 
there shall be complete liberty of press; (8) 
the Evangelical Lutheran religion shall be the 
religion of the state and king; (9) no personal 
nor hereditary privileges shall in the future 
be granted to any one; and (10) every male 
citizen, irrespective of birth, station, or prop¬ 
erty, shall be required, for a certain length of 
time, to carry arms in defence of his country. 

When Charles XIV John became king of 
Norway and Sweden he was irritated by the 





With Denmark and Sweden 


67 


opposition of the Norwegian parliament to the 
payment of a part of the public debt of Den¬ 
mark which the king of Sweden had guaran¬ 
teed at the council of Kiel. A compromise was 
finally reached, by the terms of which the king 
and crown prince renounced their civil lists 
from Norway for a period of ten years, and 
the Norwegians agreed to pay Denmark about 
three million dollars. The Norwegian parlia¬ 
ment at Christiania abolished all noble titles 
and privileges, but the king refused to make 
the measure a law. The bill was passed by two 
successive parliaments and a rupture was 
averted by a compromise. The king agreed 
to sanction a law abolishing such privileges of 
the nobles as were in direct conflict with the 
Norwegian constitution and stipulating that 
the exemption from taxation and other per¬ 
sonal privileges should cease with the demise 
of the living nobles. In spite of the fact that 
King Charles XIV John was trained in the 
political school of the French Revolution, he 
had no faith in democracy, and he was contin¬ 
ually at loss to understand the aspirations for 
freedom which his stubborn Norse subjects so 
constantly displayed. 

His son, King Oscar I (1844-1849), had more 




68 


In Viking Land 


patience and prudence; and friction with the 
Norwegian parliament was largely averted. 
He gave Norway her own flag and manifested 
a keen interest in the welfare of the country. 
Charles NV (1859-1872) was also a man of 
peace and Norway prospered during his reign. 
The commerce of the country developed rap¬ 
idly; the overland telegraph line was extended 
from Lindesnses to the North Cape; laws were 
passed granting larger religious liberties, and 
it was provided that the national parliament 
should meet annually instead of triennially. 

Having died in the prime of life without 
male issue, the king was succeeded by his 
brother Oscar II (1872-1907), who acted as 
sovereign of the dual kingdom down to the 
time of dissolution (1905). In spite of splen¬ 
did personal qualities, generous endowment of 
forbearance, and keen sagacity in matters of 
statecraft, the reign of Oscar was one of inces¬ 
sant strife with the contentious Norwegian 
parliament. The liberal and democratic move¬ 
ment which had gained enormous strength 
since the union with Sweden, together with a 
strong national spirit among all classes of the 
Norse people, foredoomed separation; and it 
is well that the crisis came while the gentle 




With Denmark and Sweden 


69 


and peace-loving Oscar II was still on the 
throne; for a sovereign with less charity and 
forbearance might have plunged the two coun¬ 
tries into a period of needless bloodshed. 

In this connection it is only necessary to 
enumerate the leading events which culminated 
in the final rupture. Oscar II was scarcely 
well seated on his throne when his government 
and the Norwegian parliament clashed on a 
dozen questions — the time for the sitting of 
parliament, the right of dissolution, allowance 
for its members, pensions for retired clergy¬ 
men, the king’s veto rights, the management of 
government railways in Norway, organization 
of volunteer sharp-shooting corps, etc. The 
most serious conflict came in 1891 when it was 
proposed that Norway should have a consular 
service independent from that of Sweden; 
then followed the abolition of the symbols of 
union from the Norwegian national flag, the 
removal of the king’s portrait from the money, 
and the final separation in 1905. 





CHAPTER V 


HAAKON VII AND THE NEW KINGDOM 


Rejection of the consular service bill leads to the separation 
from Sweden — Result of the general plebiscite in Norway 

— Terms of separation — Haakon VII elected sovereign of 
the new kingdom — Social and personal qualities of the 
young king — Norway a constitutional monarchy — The 
national parliament — Executive department of the govern¬ 
ment — Simplicity of Norwegian laws — Crime and criminals 

— Organization of the Norwegian courts — Army and navy 

— Government revenues and expenditures — Nature of the 
direct and indirect taxes — Free-trade and protectionist poli¬ 
cies — The national debt — Financial obligations of the 
municipalities — The monetary system of Norway — Na¬ 
tional and savings banks and their supervision. 


The measure relating to tlie consular service 
was the rock upon which the dual ship of state 
finally sundered. On the 27th of May, 1905, 
King Oscar unreservedly rejected the inde¬ 
pendent consular service bill. The Norwegian 
ministers forthwith resigned. The king de¬ 
clared that it was impossible to form a new 
ministry, whereupon the Norwegian parlia¬ 
ment on the 7th of June, 1905, declared the 
union with Sweden dissolved. This action, 


70 


Haakon VII 


71 


says Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, the explorer and 
statesman, 4 4 was received with gTeat satisfac¬ 
tion and enthusiasm over the whole of Nor¬ 
way. In Sweden it did not at first cause as 
much sensation as might have been expected. 
The feeling seems rather to have been that of 
astonishment, as if they had not expected that 
the Norwegians really would take such decisive 
action. The public did not seem quite to un¬ 
derstand what had happened, and could not 
grasp the fact that Norway had dethroned the 
king and thus dissolved the union. 

There were Hotspurs in Sweden who cried 
for war and demanded that the union should 
be held together by force of arms, but wiser 
counsels prevailed in cabinet circles; and on 
the 19th of June the Swedish council of state 
advised the dissolution of the union. VTien 
the matter came before the Swedish parlia¬ 
ment eight days later, a special committee was 
appointed to draft resolutions looking to the 
final separation of the two countries. The 
committee made its report the 25th of July. 
It recommended the dissolution of the bond 
after the settlement of certain questions touch¬ 
ing the frontier line, the pasture rights of the 
nomadic Lapps, and the use of water ways, 








72 


In Viking Land 


providing that the people of Norway in gen¬ 
eral election favored the dissolution. 

The Norwegian parliament at once proposed 
that a general plebiscite should be taken the 
13th of August, by which the electors should 
declare whether or not they favoured dissolu¬ 
tions. Eight-five per cent, of the electors 
voted; 368,211 were in favour of separation and 
184 against it. The election returns produced 
something of a surprise in Sweden, for Swed¬ 
ish newspapers had quite generally repre¬ 
sented that the majority of the Norwegians 
disapproved of separation and that the crisis 
was the work of a handful of scheming Norse 
politicians. 

After the pronouncement of the Norwegian 
electors, the government of Sweden invited 
Norway to send four delegates to meet a like 
number of Swedish delegates at Karlstad on 
the 31st of August. The negotiations were of 
a very difficult nature, because of the unreason¬ 
able demands of Sweden; and it seemed for a 
time that the conference would have to break 
up and that the two countries would be plunged 
into war. Fortunately disputed matters were 
satisfactorily adjusted and the conference ter¬ 
minated its labours the 23rd of September. 




Haakon VII 


73 


The action of the delegates was ratified in both 
countries in October; and on the 4th of No¬ 
vember Karl XIII, second son of King Oscar, 
was offered the Norwegian crown. It was 
promptly declined; and after a plebiscite, 
Prince Karl of Denmark was on the 18th of 
November elected King of Norway. Two days 
later the crown was accepted, and on the 25th 
of November he arrived at Christiania. He 
was coronated at Trondhjem the 1st of Janu¬ 
ary, 1906, as Haakon VII. 

Haakon VII, the chief magistrate of the new 
kingdom of Norway, is the second son of Fred¬ 
erick VIII, king of Denmark. He was born 
the 3rd of August, 1872. His brothers are 
Prince Christian, heir-apparent to the Danish 
throne, and the Princes Harald and Gustav; 
his sisters, the Princesses Thyra and Dagmar; 
his uncles, King Edward VII of England, King 
George I of Greece, the Duke of Cumberland, 
and Prince Waldemar of Denmark; his aunts, 
the queens of England and Greece, the em¬ 
press-dowager of Russia, and the Princess 
Marie of Orleans; and his cousins, Czar Nich¬ 
olas II of Russia, the Prince of Wales, the 
crown prince of Greece, and Prince Aage of 
Denmark. He married Princess Maud, the 




74 


In Viking Land 


third daughter of King Edward VII of Eng¬ 
land, the 22nd of July, 1896; and one son, 
Prince Olaf, the crown prince of Norway, born 
the 2d of July, 1903, is the result of this union. 

The new Norwegian king enjoys the reputa¬ 
tion of being liberal-minded, easy-going, and 
fond of outdoor sports. At the age of thirteen 
he entered the royal navy of Denmark as a 
midshipman, where, for nine months, he had 
the lowest post in the service; but he weathered 
the ordeal excellently and emerged from the 
navy with the sobriquet “ the sailor prince.” 
Haakon is often seen in the saddle with his 
hounds; he is a patron of vigorous and manly 
athletics, and he is a leader in the winter sports 
which are fast becoming a leading feature of 
the social season at Christiania. The new 
queen is stately in appearance but cold and 
reserved in demeanour; but little Prince Olaf 
is the most popular individual in the new king¬ 
dom. 

Norway is a constitutional and hereditary 
monarchy of a very democratic sort. The con¬ 
stitution of the 17th of May, 1814, which forms 
the basis of the fundamental law of the land, 
vests the legislative power in the representa¬ 
tives of the people, although the king is given 





THE ROYAL FAMILY OF NORWAY 






Haakon VII 


75 


limited veto rights. He may exercise the veto 
twice; but if the same measure should pass 
three parliaments, formed by separate and 
subsequent elections, it becomes a law without 
the sovereign’s assent. 

The national parliament (storthing) meets 
annually, but new elections take place only 
every three years. The sessions cannot ex¬ 
ceed two months without the sanction of the 
king. The right of voting belongs to every 
Norwegian citizen — the franchise was ex¬ 
tended to women in 1907 — of the age of 
twenty-five years and domiciled in the country 
during the last five years. The country is di¬ 
vided into rural districts and towns, each elect¬ 
ing one member of parliament. There are 
forty-one representatives from the towns and 
eighty-two from the rural districts. Members 
of parliament must be at least thirty years old, 
residents of Norway for at least ten years, and 
voters in the districts which they represent. 
They receive an allowance of about $3.25 a 
day while parliament is in session, besides 
travelling expenses. 

There is in reality but one house of parlia¬ 
ment; but when the members assemble the 
second week of October each year, they elect 




76 


In Viking Land 


one-fourth of their number to form a select 
council — Lagthing — while the remaining 
tliree-fourths form a general council — Odels- 
thing. All new laws must first come before the 
Odelsthing, after which they pass to the Lag¬ 
thing to be accepted or rejected. In cases of 
disagreement the two houses meet in joint ses¬ 
sion and decide the matter without discussion. 
Besides making the laws, parliament natural¬ 
izes foreigners; imposes taxes; provides for 
the administration of the property of the state; 
superintends the coinage and the emission of 
notes; opens loans on the credit of the king¬ 
dom; votes the amounts required for public 
expenditures, and examines treaties concluded 
with foreign powers. 

The executive department of the government 
is represented by the king, a minister of state 
(president of the council), and eight councillors 
of state, who are cabinet officers. The minis¬ 
ter and councillors may participate in the dis¬ 
cussions of parliament but they have no vote. 
The eight cabinet officers are (1) foreign af¬ 
fairs, (2) education and religion, (3) justice, 
(4) commerce, navigation and industry, (5) 
agriculture, (6) public works, (7) finance and 
customs, and (8) defence. 





Haakon VII 


77 


For administrative purposes Norway is di¬ 
vided into twenty counties — the cities of 
Christiania and Bergen being regarded as 
counties. These are again subdivided into 
towns and rural communes. The towns and 
rural districts are governed by councils com¬ 
posed of from twelve to forty-eight members. 
Presidents of the local councils also form 
county councils which meet yearly to decide 
upon matters concerning the general welfare 
of the county. The county councils make 
grants for the construction of highways and 
railways and they deal with matters relating 
to county boards of education, lunacy, and 
prisons. 

The laws of Norway are simple and brief. 
They are bound in a small pocket-volume, each 
law occupying a paragraph, and they are to 
be found in every Norse home. The court of 
assize hears the more important civil and all 
criminal cases. It is composed of a judge and 
ten jurymen, the latter being selected for each 
session from among the rate-payers where the 
court is held. Punishments entailing the loss 
of liberty are decreed by the penal code for 
terms ranging from six months to life. Capital 
punishment is permitted by the code, but it has 





78 


In Viking Land 


not been used since 1876. There are peniten¬ 
tiaries for men and women at Christiania and 
one for men at Trondhjem. 

The crime problem is less serious in Nor¬ 
way than in many European countries, and 
there has been marked diminution during the 
past thirty years with the decrease in the use 
of alcoholic beverages. The decrease has been 
most marked in the matter of theft and of¬ 
fences against public morals. Among the more 
serious offences committed in Norway, infan¬ 
ticide leads. Incest and rape occupy a rather 
prominent place. For the milder offences the 
punishment most often inflicted is imprison¬ 
ment on bread and water, the sentence being 
from four to thirty days. Nearly half the num¬ 
ber of persons condemned are sentenced to this 
punishment. About twenty per cent, of the 
offences are expiated by fines. The women of 
Norway play a relatively larger part in the 
criminal matters than in the United States. 

The court of mutual agreement is the lowest 
branch of the judicial organization of Norway. 
Voters of municipalities — towns and rural 
districts — meet triennially and select ten of 
their number to act as members of a concilia¬ 
tion commission. If members of the legal pro- 





Haakon VII 


79 


fession they are not allowed to practise law 
during their term of office, thus removing a 
strong temptation to litigation. The commis¬ 
sion endeavours to reconcile the parties who 
have differences; and if the litigants agree to 
the finding of the commission, the judgment is 
registered and rendered valid, at an expense 
to the suitors of about thirty cents. If, how¬ 
ever, the suitors disagree with the judgment of 
the conciliation commission, an appeal may be 
made to the higher court, which is composed 
of one judge, who must possess legal training, 
and four associates chosen from among the 
tax-payers of the district. The competence 
of this court is complete in civil matters; and 
no appeal may he taken if the amount in dis¬ 
pute is less than $8.65. When appeals are 
made, they are taken to the special courts at 
Christiania and Bergen. The final resort is 
the supreme court at Christiania. The Nor¬ 
wegians, however, are not a litigious people. 

The army of Norway is a national militia, 
something after the pattern of that of Swit¬ 
zerland. While liability to service is compul¬ 
sory between the ages of eighteen and .fifty, 
very little time is devoted to military training. 
The men are usually called out at the age of 




80 


In Viking Land 


twenty-two and they remain on the army list 
for sixteen years. They serve first in the line 
for six years, then in the landvern for six 
years, and for four years in the landstorm. 
The line only can be employed outside the 
country. The military training of conscripts 
is not carried on in barracks, as in most Euro¬ 
pean countries, but by exercise in camps during 
a few weeks of the summer. During the first 
year the drill for the infantry lasts for forty- 
eight days and for special arms from sixty to 
ninety days. After the drill come the battal¬ 
ion exercises. These exercises are continued 
twenty-four days each summer for seven years 
for the men in line. 

The non-commissioned officers have regular 
appointments or serve as conscripts. Their 
theoretical and practical course of training 
covers three years for the infantry and cav¬ 
alry and four years for artillery and engineers. 
Most of them are non-commissioned officers 
and serve only during the summer exercises. 
Officers who receive regular appointments 
must complete the elementary course of the 
national military school. The nominal 
strength of the Norwegian army is about 
80,000 men, but not more than 18,000 can be 




Haakon VII 


81 


under arms at any one time without the con¬ 
sent of parliament. 

The navy of Norway is not consequential. 
From seven to eight hundred conscripts are 
required yearly to go through a course of 
training that lasts about six months. The navy 
has four battle-ships, four old coast service 
monitors, three gunboats, and twenty-one mod¬ 
ern and ten old torpedo boats. Norway has, 
however, a comparatively large merchant ma¬ 
rine, including 5,770 sailing and 1,499 steam 
vessels. The most important fortresses are 
at Oscarsborg, Agdenes, Bergen, Tonsberg, 
and Christiansand. 

There is probably no country in the world 
where governmental affairs are conducted with 
greater economy than in Norway. The largest 
single source of revenue for the maintenance 
of the government is furnished by customs 
duties, $10,530,000; excise duties on alcoholic 
beverages furnish $2,106,000; the income tax, 
$1,377,000; state property, $984,980; stamps, 
$361,000; judicial fees, $324,000, and miscel¬ 
laneous revenues, $3,030,000. The important 
items of expenditure are: army, $3,432,910; 
interest on the public debt, $3,073,680; educa¬ 
tion and religion, $2,900,000; administration 




82 


In Viking Land 


of justice, $2,041,720; finance and customs de¬ 
partments, $1,273,000; navy, $1,246,000; roads, 
canals, and ports, $1,155,000; civil list of the 
king, $229,770; and national parliament, $191,- 
430. During the year 1906-1907, the state rail¬ 
ways of Norway cost the country $1,430,460 
more than they earned; but this large item is 
due to the enormous extension of state railway 
lines, and particularly to the construction of 
the costly mountain road that is to connect 
Christiania with Bergen. The combined postal 
and telegraph services — both remarkably ef¬ 
ficient for so sparsely settled a country — had 
a deficit of only $82,000. 

There are three direct taxes in Norway — 

(1) the tax on foreign commercial travellers, 

(2) the legacy tax, and (3) the income tax. 
The government receives something like half 
a million dollars annually from foreign com¬ 
mercial travellers. All inheritances falling to 
others than the wife, children, and parents of 
the deceased are taxed from six to eight per 
cent. The income tax of Norway is progress¬ 
ive. Incomes of less than three hundred dol¬ 
lars are not taxed. From three hundred to 
one thousand dollars the tax is two per cent.; 
from one to two thousand dollars, three per 




Haakon VII 


83 


cent.; from two to three thousand dollars, 
four per cent.; and above three thousand dol¬ 
lars, five per cent. 

The indirect taxes are in the nature of cus¬ 
toms duties, liquor and malt taxes, and taxes 
on public documents and playing cards. Nor¬ 
way has wavered between free-trade and pro¬ 
tection for more than half a century. After 
the union with Sweden the country was mod¬ 
erately protectionist in practice; in the six¬ 
ties and seventies free-trade policies prevailed, 
and during the past ten years the protectionist 
movement has again gained force. The tariff 
rates, however, are not high. The duty on 
half-completed manufactures is from five to ten 
per cent, of the value and on completed manu¬ 
factures from fifteen to thirty per cent. There 
is no duty on raw material imported for indus¬ 
trial purposes, and the same rule applies to 
some half-completed manufactures. Cereals — 
to except malt — are on the free list. The du¬ 
ties on tobacco, cigars, malt, liquors, and cof¬ 
fee are relatively high. There is a loading and 
lighthouse tax on vessels importing goods to 
the country and a small tax on vessels export¬ 
ing goods from the country. 

Liquors may be manufactured only at dis- 




84 


In Viking Land 


tilleries that are under government supervi¬ 
sion, but the production of malt for household 
purposes is free from any taxation. When 
liquor is exported out of the country or is made 
unserviceable for drinking purposes, the tax is 
refunded. Among other assets of the national 
treasury may be noted the stock capital of the 
Norwegian Mortgage Bank, shares in the Bank 
of Norway and the state railways, and the 
working capital of the silver mines at Kongs- 
berg. 

The national debt of Norway is something 
like sixty million dollars, and the interest on 
and reduction of this debt is an important item 
of expenditure. As before pointed out, a debt 
was inherited from Denmark. In addition 
loans have been found necessary for the con¬ 
struction of the state railways, the formation 
of a working capital for the Norwegian Mort¬ 
gage Bank, and the establishment of the tele¬ 
graph and telephone service. The terminable 
national debt has been incurred chiefly by 
means of foreign loans negotiated with indi¬ 
vidual banking-houses or syndicates of banks. 
As a rule the loans have been raised in Eng¬ 
land, Germany, and France. The rate of in¬ 
terest on loans has been from three to four 




Haakon VII 


85 


and one-half per cent., and the time of reim¬ 
bursement from ten to seventy-five years. 

Municipalities bear a large part of the finan¬ 
cial burden of the country. They defray the 
chief part of the expense for public education, 
religion, care of the poor, police supervision, 
local courts, sanitation, highways, harbours, 
and public works. More than a fourth of the 
municipal taxation goes for the maintenance 
of elementary schools. The care of the poor 
comes second and public highways third. Di¬ 
rect taxes on real estate, movable property, 
and incomes furnish the bulk of municipal rev¬ 
enues. Taxes are imposed upon buildings and 
real property of every kind in a certain ratio 
of their value. Among indirect municipal 
taxes are fees for the sale of liquors, licenses 
for the different trades, ecclesiastical dues, 
and taxes on dogs. 

The monetary unit of Norway, Sweden, and 
Denmark is the krone, which is worth a trifle 
more than twenty-seven cents in American 
money. The krone is divided into one hundred 
ore. The government delegates to the Bank 
of Norway the right to issue paper money. 
While in the main a private concern, the gov¬ 
ernment exercises certain control in the ap- 




86 


In Viking Land 


pointment of its managers. It accepts money 
on call but does not pay interest thereon. It 
also does business as a loan, circulation, and 
discount bank. It takes charge, without com¬ 
pensation, of the money transactions of the 
government and of the exchange of subsidiary 
coin incumbent on the national treasury. The 
Bank of Norway is located at Christiania and 
it has branch offices in a dozen towns in the 
country. 

The Mortgage Bank of Norway, a semi¬ 
state institution, grants loans on real estate. 
One-fourth of its capital is invested in Norwe¬ 
gian government bonds. There is also a system 
of savings banks in the country for the safe¬ 
keeping and productive investment of the small 
savings of the working people. Such banks 
must have the sanction of the king and submit 
to the regular inspection of the ministry of 
finance. They loan deposits on mortgage of 
real estate or on adequate personal security 
with two or more endorsements. The interest 
paid by savings banks during the past fifty 
years has varied from five to three per cent. 
Norway has more than four hundred such 
banks and they represent half a million de¬ 
positors. 




CHAPTER VI 


THE PEOPLE OP NORWAY 


Norway the home of the purest Teutonic ethnic stock — Phys¬ 
ical characteristics of the people — Stature — Mental char¬ 
acteristics —• Independence and absence of hereditary aris¬ 
tocracy — Talent recruited from the ranks of the peasants 
— Moral traits of the people — Honesty and kindness to 
animals — Aptitude for trade and travel — Cleanliness, per¬ 
sonal and otherwise — Standards of sexual morality — 
Charities and corrections — Sanitation and health — Area 
and population of the country — Emigration to the United 
States —• Increase in the face of emigration — Urban and 
suburban population — Growth of the capital — Improve¬ 
ment of the condition of the industrial classes — Child- 
labour and the employment of women — Insurance against 
accident — Social and political legislation. 


Because of its geographic isolation, the 
Scandinavian peninsula is the home of the pur¬ 
est Teutonic ethnic stock. The Norwegians, 
Icelanders, Swedes, and Danes are racially 
closely related, and they belong to the same 
branch of the Aryan family as the Germans, 
Flemish, English, and Anglo-Americans. The 
most marked physical characteristic of the 
Norwegian is the long and narrow head, the 
degree of long headedness being most marked 

87 


88 


In Viking Land 


in the interior of the country, particularly in 
the Osterdal and the Gudbransdal. Sixty per 
cent, of the inhabitants of these valleys also 
have light hair. Here the stature is greatest 
and the maximum of Teutonic purity is found. 
The coast sections of the country, on the other 
hand, represent more race mixture. The head 
is noticeably broader, the complexion darker, 
and the stature shorter; and, as Arbo has 
pointed out, the coast people are more emo¬ 
tional, loquacious, and susceptible to leader¬ 
ship than the stolid, reserved, and independent 
Teutons of the interior regions. 

The Norwegians are not only the lightest 
people in Europe, in point of colour, but they 
enjoy the reputation of being the tallest peo¬ 
ple. During the civil war in the United States, 
it was found that among the enlisted troops 
the Norwegians, after the Americans, had the 
greatest stature, and that in breadth of chest 
they were excelled by none. It is probably 
true, however, that the Norwegians who emi¬ 
grate represent the finest physical types, and 
that they possess a higher average stature than 
one finds in Norway to-day, if the most north¬ 
erly provinces are excepted. Mr. Hansen, a 
Norse anthropologist, however, maintains that 




The People of Norway 


89 


emigration has not lowered the physical effi¬ 
ciency of the nation. He points out that re¬ 
cruiting statistics indicate that in years of 
great emigration there is a better quality in 
those left behind — a greater percentage of 
able-bodied men, fewer incapable of military 
service, and fewer with narrow chests and 
weak frames. 

The Norwegians are a very plain people — 
neither pretty nor handsome. The women are 
strong and square-built, and what beauty they 
have is of the solid and substantial sort. Of 
the two sexes, the men are the better propor¬ 
tioned, both in the matter of figures and fea¬ 
tures. They have light complexions — barring 
the bronzing of the skin due to constant ex¬ 
posure, — light hair, blue eyes, and reasonably 
well-formed noses. Both men and women have 
frank and open countenances. 

The most marked mental characteristics 
are clear insight, unconquerable pertinacity, 

dogged obstinacy, absolute honesty, and a 

% 

sturdy sense of independence. Bjomson has 
well remarked concerning his people: “ Opin¬ 
ions are slowly formed and tenaciously held, 
and much independence is developed by the 
rigorous isolation of farm from farm, each on 




90 


In Viking Land 


its own freehold ground, unannoyed and un¬ 
contradicted by any one. The way the people 
work together in the fields, in the forests, and 
in their large rooms has given them a charac¬ 
teristic stamp of confidence in each other.’’ 
This solitary and uneventful life inclines the 
people to be phlegmatic; yet when occasions 
arise, calling for quick resource and prompt 
action, they usually meet such situations ex¬ 
cellently well. 

Independence and frankness characterize all 
classes of society. Norway has no hereditary 
aristocracy. In 1821 it was provided that those 
holding titles might be allowed to retain them 
during their lives but they could not transmit 
them to their children. The Norse character 
has never been marred by the yoke of slavery. 
The feudal system, with its serfdom, never got 
a foothold in the north. The people have al¬ 
ways been small land-holders which has devel¬ 
oped among them an independence of charac¬ 
ter not found in countries where the mass of 
the inhabitants have no direct property inter¬ 
ests. There is no class in Norway correspond¬ 
ing to the country gentlemen of England or to 
the grand seigneurs and provincial noblemen 





NATIONAL COSTUME IN THE HARDANGER 
































' 








. 


















































' 





























The People of Norway 


91 


of the continent. The wealthiest landlord is 
only a peasant. 

The absence of class lines has played a lead¬ 
ing role in the wide-spread intelligence of the 
Norwegian people and the high place they oc¬ 
cupy in the culture-history of Europe. The 
clergy of the country are almost entirely re¬ 
cruited from the ranks of the peasantry. The 
great national university at Christiania is pat¬ 
ronized by the sons and daughters of the hum¬ 
blest farmers. Jorgen Moe, the well-known 
bishop and hymn-writer; Ivar Aasen, the 
greatest of Norse linguists; Arne Garborg, the 
author; Vinje, the lyric poet; Svendsen, the 
music composer; Skrevsrud, the indefatigable 
missionary; the painters Dahl and Skredsvig 
and the sculptor Skeibrok; Thommessen, the 
gifted editor; Baard Haugland, the financier, 
and Sivert Nilsen, the statesman, were all the 
sons of humble peasants. 

Bjornson is probably correct when he asserts 
that 1 ‘ no other country possesses so many men 
in official positions — doctors, clergymen, engi¬ 
neers, teachers, and merchants — who are 
peasant-born, often from the tenant and work¬ 
ing classes; and that in no other country have 
so many eminent poets, artists, men of science, 




92 


In Viking Land 


and statesmen risen directly from the peas¬ 
antry.’ ’ Norway, like the United States, is 
distinctly a land of opportunity; but the eco¬ 
nomic conditions of the country and wise legis¬ 
lation have prevented the development of na¬ 
tional diseases due to excessive and vulgar 
wealth. Poverty and pietism alone have been 
left to influence the Norwegian character. 

Honesty is one of the valuable assets of the 
Norwegian people. Attempts at extortion are 
so rare that tourists, accustomed to the pro¬ 
verbial dishonesty of the Latin races, find 
travel in Norway a joy. An English traveller 
relates this typical incident: He had lost his 
purse shortly after leaving Vossevangen for 
Stalheim. Altogether unconscious of his loss, 
he walked on placidly. Suddenly, hearing hur¬ 
ried footsteps following him, he turned about 
and faced a lad who thrust the pocketbook into 
the owner’s palm and disappeared before the 
Englishman got a coin from his pocket to re¬ 
ward the boy for his honesty. The Norwegian 
youth very properly did not expect a reward 
for doing the only thing open to his mind upon 
finding the purse. 

Kindness to horses is another virtue of the 
Norwegian people. In their gentle consider a- 




The People of Norway- 


93 


tion for and their affectionate treatment of 
beasts of burden they excel all other Christian 
races. Only among Mohammedans is the trav¬ 
eller likely to find such consideration for 
horses. An English writer remarks in this 
connection: “ No blows, no sore backs, no 
harsh tones disturb the perfect composure be¬ 
tween man and beast. Chiefly this is owing to 
the good nature and sweet temper of the drivers 
and horse-owners; but it may be left to spec¬ 
ulation how far these qualities here, as in Mo¬ 
hammedan lands, are owing to the absence of 
public-houses and the universal sobriety of the 
people.” 

The Norwegians, like the Swiss, have marked 
aptitude for trade and travel. The business 
interests of the country are not in the hands 
of the Hebrews, the Germans, and the English, 
as in so many other lands. And it is doubtful 
if other Europeans travel as much as the Nor¬ 
wegians. They represent a high development 
of the migratory instinct — as seamen to the 
different ports of the world; as fishermen on 
great whaling expeditions; as merchants in 
search of new markets; as explorers seeking 
the poles of the earth; as men of letters, sci¬ 
ence, and art, at the great culture-centres, and 




94 


In Viking Land 


as emigrants seeking homes and fortunes in 
distant lands. And wherever they go, they 
carry with them their characteristic frankness, 
honesty, and good nature. 

Those who have known the Norwegians at 
home and abroad will agree with Frank Vin¬ 
cent that few peoples are as honourable and 
amiable and as free from destructive passions 
and pernicious prejudices. They are fond of 
a quiet simple life with kinsfolk and friends 
and home employments and enjoyments. Their 
amusements and diversions are of the quiet and 
healthy sort; and now that intemperance is 
rapidly decreasing, marked improvement in 
the social condition of the people may be ex¬ 
pected. 

Like the other Teutonic peoples, the Nor¬ 
wegians take high rank in the matter of cleanli¬ 
ness ; but it is to be regretted that they give so 
much of it to their houses, their ships, and 
their cattle, and so little to their persons. 
Tooth brushes, nail cleaners, and other useful 
toilet articles are altogether too little known, 
and the bath is likely to be the exception rather 
than the rule. Tobacco-chewing is very gen¬ 
eral. Even during religious services the filthy 
habit is practised. The men chew studiously 







NATIONAL COSTUME IN TELEMARKEN 

















































The People of Norway 


95 


throughout the service; and the audible and 
frequent expectorations on the floors of the 
pews is anything but agreeable to foreigners, 
whatever may be the sentiments of the natives. 
Norwegians who have not been in America do 
not take the name of God in vain. When angry 
they do not swear; they simply reprove the 
offender without cursing him. 

Norway does not have a high standard of 
sexual morality. An unusually large number 
of children are born out of wedlock, but prosti¬ 
tution is less in evidence than in most Euro¬ 
pean countries, and there are no vice-husband- 
ships; for, like Caesar’s wife, the Norse women 
are above suspicion. Such offences as infanti¬ 
cide, incest, and rape figure rather prominently 
in the crime statistics of the country. Poverty, 
on the other hand, does not seem to exist, if 
one is to judge by the absence of beggars. I 
do not recall that I have ever seen a beggar 
in Norway. The government has long dealt in 
a wholesome way with beggars, tramps, and 
drunkards who shirk their financial responsi¬ 
bility to their dependents. Able-bodied men 
are required to support not only their immedi¬ 
ate families, but also their divorced wives and 
illegitimate children. If they cannot find work, 




96 


In Viking Land 


they are required to accept service on the im¬ 
mense tracts of government land that are being 
brought into cultivation. If a man refuses to 
do the work assigned to him, leaves it without 
reason, or is dismissed through bad conduct, 
and within a year either he or his dependents 
come on the poor law for relief, he is com¬ 
mitted to a work-house where his liberty is 
forfeited and begging is impossible, and where 
he must face either work, hunger, or punish¬ 
ment. 

The laws against tramps are so stringent 
that Norway is without the brotherhood of rov¬ 
ing hoboes. Persons found roaming about 
the country without definite homes and occupa¬ 
tions are committed to work-houses for terms 
varying from three to six years. Aid is ren¬ 
dered to the worthy poor by the municipalities. 
The national government makes an appropria¬ 
tion to municipalities to be lent to persons with¬ 
out means for the erection or acquisition of 
houses of their own and the purchase of plots 
of ground. But both the national and the local 
governments have wisely checked vagrancy and 
reduced pauperism to a minimum. 

Norway has an excellent system of district 
physicians. Large tracts of the country are 




The People of Norway 


97 


very sparsely settled; and, but for the inter¬ 
vention of the government, they would be with¬ 
out medical assistance. The country is divided 
into districts and provision is made for medical 
attendance of the sick poor and the lunatics 
maintained at public expense, and the super¬ 
vision of persons suffering from epidemic 
diseases. For purposes of obstetric aid, the 
country is likewise divided into midwife dis¬ 
tricts, each with its duly appointed midwife. 
Vaccination is compulsory in Norway, and the 
vaccination certificate must be produced before 
a child can be confirmed or a marriage cere¬ 
mony performed. 

In spite of the absence of wholesome house¬ 
hold sanitation, Norway is a healthy country. 
Its death-rate is low, being surpassed only by 
Sweden among the countries of Europe, in 
spite of a comparatively high death-rate from 
drowning due to the shipping, lumber indus¬ 
tries, and fisheries. This of course affects al¬ 
most entirely the male part of the population. 
The climate of the countrv is unfavourable to 
the spread of epidemic and endemic diseases. 
Asiatic cholera and the yellow fever are un¬ 
known and ague and dysentery seldom occur. 
Acute bronchial catarrhs are among the most 




98 


In Viking Land 


frequent epidemic diseases, and among chronic 
diseases tuberculosis occupies the most promi¬ 
nent place. Leprosy, formerly very prevalent, 
has decreased markedly during recent years. 

With an area of 124,495 square miles — 
rather more than three per cent, of Europe — 
her population at the last census was only 
2,240,032, or less than one-half of one per cent, 
of the continent. Thus, it will be seen, the 
country is very thinly settled. Tromso and the 
northern provinces are the most sparsely set¬ 
tled and the districts on the east and south 
sides of the Trondhjem fjord are the most 
thickly populated. Two-thirds of the people 
live upon the coast and fjords, a fourth in the 
interior lowlands, and the balance — about ten 
per cent. — in the mountain districts. Only 
one-fourth of the population of the country 
live in towns. Most of the large towns are on 
the coast and fjords, the only inland towns of 
consequence being Kongsberg and Hamar. 
There is but one city in the country with more 
than one hundred thousand inhabitants — 
Christiania, with a population of 227,626 — and 
only four above twenty thousand — Bergen, 
Trondhjem, Stavanger, and Drammen. Only 







IN THE HITTERDAL. IN THE S.ETERSDAL 









The People of Norway 


99 


thirteen of the sixty odd towns of Norway have 
a population of over ten thousand. 

About twenty thousand Norwegians emi¬ 
grate annually to the United States and some¬ 
thing like fifteen hundred to Canada and other 
countries. The large excess of births over 
deaths, however, gives the country a healthy 
increase. Half the people of Norway are mar¬ 
ried, as against sixty-six per cent, in Hungary 
and thirty-nine per cent, in Ireland. The num¬ 
ber of divorced husbands and wives is less in 
Norway than in any country in Europe. Sixty 
per cent, of the people are wage-earners; 
twenty per cent, are young children; sixteen 
per cent, are attending schools or other educa¬ 
tional institutions; three per cent, are sup¬ 
ported in part or entirely by municipalities or 
are otherwise unproductive; and only three per 
cent, are persons of independent means. 

In spite of the steady stream of emigration 
to the United States, the population of Norway 
has more than doubled during the past fifty 
years; and growth has been most marked dur¬ 
ing the periods of greatest emigration. During 
the first part of the past century the annual 
growth was less than two-tenths of one per 




100 


In Viking Land 


cent.; whereas during the latter part of the 
century it had nearly trebled. As elsewhere 
the growth in population has been greatest in 
the towns. This, as Arnneus has explained, is 
not due to the comparatively greater number 
of births in the towns, as this advantage is 
counterbalanced by the greater mortality, but 
to the influx of persons seeking employment. 
The Norwegian towns have grown more rap¬ 
idly during the past century than the towns in 
either Sweden or Denmark. Growth was 
greatest during the decade from 1855 to 1865; 
from 1865 to 1890 there was a falling off in 
the rate of increase, due to the emigration from 
the towns to America; but during the past 
twenty years the increase in the population 
of the towns has been more marked. 

Increase has been greatest in Christiania. 
At the beginning of the past century the cap¬ 
ital had only 12,423 inhabitants; at the close 
of the century 221,255; an annual increase 
of three per cent. The growth of Bergen has 
been less rapid; at the beginning of the cen¬ 
tury it had 18,128 inhabitants; at the close of 
the century 68,000. Remarks Mr. Arnneus 1 

x See his interesting study on the population of Norway in 
“Norway: Official Publication for the Paris Exposition, 1900/' 





A BRIDE IN THE NUMEDAL 






The People of Norway 


101 


in this connection: “ If the population be 
grouped according to the natural character of 
the inhabited districts, it will be found that 
during the course of the century, the coast 
population shows the most rapid increase, the 
inland fjord districts somewhat less, while the 
lowland, and still more the mountain popula¬ 
tion, has increased much more slowly. The 
emigration that has been going on of late years 
from the last two has even in some places 
caused a decrease in the actual number.” 

The national parliament has aimed not only 
to improve the economic condition of the farm¬ 
ers, and thus diminish emigration, but it has 
also during late years tried to protect working¬ 
men from the dangers and over-exertion that 
factory labour so often entails. Children 
under fourteen are not permitted to work in 
factories at all. Women cannot be employed 
in underground work; they are not permitted 
to care for or take charge of machines, and 
they cannot be employed in factories for the 
first six weeks after confinement. Men are not 
allowed to work from six o’clock in the eve¬ 
ning before a Sunday or holy day to ten o’clock 
of the evening of the holy day. These laws 
are enforced by government inspectors with 





102 


In Viking Land 


technical training, and their infringement is 
punishable by fines not exceeding three hun¬ 
dred dollars. Special insurance provision has 
also been made against accidents for work¬ 
men in mines and quarries, in timber-floating, 
in railway and tramway work, and in other 
industrial lines. Unfortunately agriculture, 
fishing, and shipping are not included. 

The administration of such insurance is in 
the hands of a commission appointed by the 
national government. The indemnification is 
intended to cover the expenses of medical 
treatment from the fourth week after the ac¬ 
cident, the sick-clubs bearing the expenses dur¬ 
ing the first month, and sixty per cent, of the 
wages of the disabled workman. In case of 
death, the insurance covers the funeral ex¬ 
penses and an annuity of fifty per cent, of the 
dead man’s wages. There are also in Norway 
various sick-clubs for the workmen and burial- 
clubs and pension funds for the widows of 
employees. There has been some agitation of 
the question of insurance against want of em¬ 
ployment, and in some towns employment bu¬ 
reaus have been established by .the municipal 
governments. There are also municipal arbi- 




The People of Norway 


103 


tration courts for the mediation of differences 
between employers and employed. 

These are some of the measures that this 
very democratic country has instituted for the 
welfare of the Norwegian people. The social 
and political legislation of recent years has 
been inspired by a sincere desire to elevate 
and improve the masses of the common people 
and to make it possible for them to remain in 
Norway and live with comparative comfort. 
With the unfavourable physiographic and eco¬ 
nomic conditions pointed out elsewhere in this 
work, the struggle for existence is at best hard; 
but an evolution of environment as well as of 
organism is possible, and the statesmen of 
Gamle Norge are unquestionably doing much 
to minimize the hardships of the scattered pop¬ 
ulation of the country. 




CHAPTER VII 


LAPPS AND THE POLAR REGIONS 


Polar sections of Norway and the Lapps — Climate of the 
polar regions — Rainfall and fog — The North Cape and the 
midnight sun — The aurora borealis — The nomadic Lapps 
— Physical and mental characteristics — Dress of the men 
and the women — Mountain Lapps and Sea Lapps — The 
reindeer in the economic life of the people — Low state of 
civilization in Finmark — The Finns and their habits. 


Nearly half the coast line of Norway lies 
within the polar circle. But the climate is less 
severe than might be expected. In the same 
latitude in which Sir John Franklin perished 
in the arctic regions of North America and in 
which lie the frozen tundra plains of Russian 
Siberia, the fjords of the west coast of Norway 
never freeze over except in their upper ex¬ 
tremities. Through large portions of northern 
Norway the sun does not set in summer or rise 
in winter. The summers, however, are not hot; 
for, while the sun does not set, it warms only 
at mid-day, simply shining the rest of the day 
as a golden orb without heat. The mean sum- 


104 


Lapps and the Polar Regions 105 


mer temperature in Finmark is 53° Fahrenheit, 
and the mean winter temperature about 5°, al¬ 
though the thermometer on the coldest days 
may drop as low as 60° below zero. 

The rainfall in Finmark is slight as com¬ 
pared with the rest of Norway — twelve to six¬ 
teen inches — but fogs are frequent along the 
coast and they are likely to occur during the 
tourist season to the North Cape. In conse¬ 
quence, not more than one out of every four 
excursion parties, making the trip to the north¬ 
ernmost part of Europe, see the chief object of 
the long trip — the midnight sun at the North 
Cape. Mr. William Eleroy Curtis, an Ameri¬ 
can traveller, remarks in this connection: “ Of 
course people who have travelled all that dis¬ 
tance cannot be expected to confess their fail¬ 
ure. In fact I have never met anybody who 
has gone to the North Cape without seeing the 
midnight sun. General absolution is granted 
to tourists to lie about it to other travellers and 
to the folks at home; but the captain admitted 
to me that they only saw it twice last year, and 
that when they saw it four times in a season it 
was considered a remarkable triumph.” Bar¬ 
ring fogs, the midnight sun is visible at the 
North Cape from the last of May to the last of 





106 


In Viking Land 


July and at Hammerfest and Tromso a few 
days less. As far south as the arctic circle it 
does not set for a brief period during the sum¬ 
mer; and at Trondhjem it merely dips below 
the horizon at midnight for a few moments. 

The North Cape is the northern extremity 
of a rugged barren star-shaped island called 
Magero. The island is separated from the 
mainland by a narrow channel and is in lati¬ 
tude 71° 10' 12". The animal life of the island 
consists of reindeer, ermine, and hare; and a 
few Norwegian and Lapp fishermen live on 
the eastern side of the island. The cape proper 
is a huge mass of dark mica slate so precipitous 
on its weather-beaten northern and western 
sides that it can only be scaled from the south 
or east. Its surface is a plateau 1,000 feet 
above sea-level and is strewn with small sand¬ 
stone, mica slate, and quartz. Here, facing the 
North Pole, is the red granite column which 
commemorates the visit of the late King Oscar 
II to the island in 1871; and a beacon records 
the fact that twenty years later the island was 
visited by Emperor William II. of Germany. 

Throughout the polar regions of Norway the 
aurora borealis produces beautiful luminous 
effects during the cold winter nights. The 




Lapps and the Polar Regions 107 


aurora forms an arch of coloured light over the 
magnetic pole at a height in the atmosphere of 
from fifty to one hundred and fifty miles. Col¬ 
oured fringes and streamers shoot from the 
arch in all directions, spreading over the sky 
and again shrinking back with a pulsing motion. 
The aurora is caused presumably by electrical 
discharges in the rare air and it very closely 
resembles the glow seen when a current trav¬ 
erses a vacuum tube. Professor Lemstrom, a 
Finnish physicist, has in fact produced the 
aurora by covering the top of Mt. Oratunturi 
in the north of Finland with a network of wires 
and sending a current of electricity from the 
wires to the earth. 

Bayard Taylor, who made foreign countries 
so familiar to American audiences fifty years 
ago by his books and lectures, gives this vivid 
description of the aurora borealis which he wit¬ 
nessed in Norwegian Lapland: “ I opened my 
eyes, looked upward, and saw a narrow belt or 
scarf of silver fire stretching directly across 
the zenith, with its loose frayed ends slowly 
swaying to and fro down the slopes of the sky. 
Presently it began to waver, bending back and 
forth, sometimes with a quick springing mo¬ 
tion, as if testing its elasticity. Now it took the 





108 


In Viking Land 


shape of a bow, now undulated into Hogarth’s 
line of beauty, brightening and fading in its 
sinuous motion, and finally formed a shep¬ 
herd’s crook, the end of which suddenly began 
to separate and fall off, as if driven by a strong 
wind, until the whole belt shot away in long, 
drifting lines of fiery snow. It then gathered 
again into a dozen dancing fragments, which 
alternately advanced and retreated, shot hither 
and thither, against and across each other, 
blazed out in yellow and rosy gleams, or paled 
again, playing a thousand fantastic tricks, as if 
guided by some wild whim. We lay silent with 
upturned faces watching this wonderful spec¬ 
tacle. Suddenly the scattered lights ran to¬ 
gether, as if by common impulse, joined their 
bright ends and fell in a broad, luminous cur¬ 
tain, straight downward through the air, until 
its fringed hem swung apparently only a few 
yards over our heads.” 

The polar circle is occupied chiefly by the 
nomadic Lapps who belong to the Finnic group 
of the Tauranian family, being racially allied 
with the Samoyedes of Siberia and the Eskimos 
of North America. They are short in stature, 
measuring from four feet six inches to five 
feet; they have the yellowish brown complex- 




Lapps and the Polar Regions 109 


ion of the Mongolian race; the head is large 
and broad, the nose short and flat, the cheek 
bones high, and the month broad. The black 
eyes are obliquely set, and the hair is long and 
stiff, the men having scanty beards. In spite 
of universal stoutness, the Lapps are extremely 
agile and they possess great muscular powers. 
Of the women it has been remarked that good 
looking Lapps are like meteors, — of very 
short duration. Exposure and intemperance 
cause them to age prematurely. The best¬ 
looking Lapps are those representing an ad¬ 
mixture with Finns or Norwegians. 

The women wear long tunics of corduroy, 
ornamented with red and yellow borders and 
confined at the waist by a belt; under the tunic 
pantaloons are worn, since open garments 
would expose them unduly to the cold; the 
headgear is a woollen cap projecting above the 
crown, and pointed shoes are worn which are 
tied about the ankles by strips of reindeer 
leather. The men wear coats and trousers of 
reindeer skin, the fur worn within; boots made 
of the reindeer’s head — the toughest part of 
the animal — and caps of skin and wool. In 
the winter they wear an extra suit with the 
hair outside. Neither men nor women wear 




110 


In Viking Land 


undergarments, and the clothing is rarely re¬ 
moved until it is worn out. Like all primitive 
people, the Lapps are very fond of gaudy 
colours and highly coloured embroideries. 

There are two reasonably distinct groups of 
Lapps in Finmark and the polar regions — the 
Sea Lapps and the Fjeld or Mountain Lapps. 
The Sea Lapps are fishermen and inhabit the 
islands and the fjords of the northwestern 
coast. They are much more numerous than the 
Mountain Lapps; and having more or less set¬ 
tled abodes, they represent the higher civiliza¬ 
tion. The government treats them as subjects 
of Norway and requires them to provide rein¬ 
deer and sledges for travel at a fixed tariff, 
much after the manner of the posting system 
in the central and southern provinces elsewhere 
described. The Mountain Lapps depend en¬ 
tirely upon their reindeer and hunting for their 
livelihood. Lapp villages look like small 
rounded hills. The houses are very simply con¬ 
structed. Saplings are stuck in the ground and 
drawn together at the top, leaving a small 
opening for the escape of the smoke, and the 
whole is covered with bark and turf. 

The reindeer supply practically all the needs 
of the Lapps. They are the sole beast of bur- 





A GROUP OF SEA LAPPS. 



A GROUP OF MOUNTAIN LAPPS 









Lapps and the Polar Regions ill 


den of the natives; Lapps drink the milk 
and make it into butter and cheese ; the whey 
is fermented and distilled into an intoxicating 
liquor; the fresh, smoked, and dried flesh forms 
the staple of food; the skins are made into 
tents, blankets, and clothing; household uten¬ 
sils are made from the antlers; the intestines 
are made into gloves, the bladders into bags, 
and the tendons into thread. Several hundred 
reindeer are necessary to maintain a family, 
and wealthy Lapps possess herds of from one 
to two thousand. 

The reindeer are delicately formed animals 
with huge branching antlers which are as much 
as four feet long and contrast strikingly with 
the small bodies of the animals. Most of the 
reindeer are of a dark slate colour, although a 
few are brown or white. The foot of the rein¬ 
deer resembles that of a camel and is excel¬ 
lently adapted for travel over the snow, being 
broad, cloven, and flexible, the separated divi¬ 
sions spreading out so as to present a resisting 
surface, when the foot is set down on the snow, 
and falling together when it is lifted. The wild 
reindeer is somewhat larger than the cultivated 
variety and lives about twice as long. The milk 
is very rich, although each doe gives a compar- 




112 


In Viking Land 


atively small quantity, and she is milked not 
more than twice or three times a week. A 
strong oily cheese is made from the milk. The 
does are never made to labour but are kept in 
the woods for milking and breeding. The cas¬ 
trated male deer are used as beasts of burden. 

A reindeer will carry a burden of about one 
hundred and twenty-five pounds, but hitched to 
a sledge he will draw twice that weight. The 
speed is not remarkable — about ten miles an 
hour for the entire day. He is a stupid animal 
and it takes a long time to train him for domes¬ 
tic uses. The food of the reindeer is a species 
of moss which grows abundantly in the polar 
regions. In the winter the moss is obtained by 
scraping away the snow with the feet and nose, 
for the sense of smell is remarkably acute, and 
the moss will be unerringly located under snow 
many feet deep. 

In summer the reindeer are driven to the 
mountains, not merely to find more abundant 
patches of the white lichen, but to avoid the 
attacks of the gad fly and other insect pests. 
During the summer the gad fly deposits its 
eggs on the skin of the animal from which the 
larva is hatched. The insect causes intolerable 
suffering, and the only relief the animal can get 




HERD OF REINDEER. 










Lapps and the Polar Regions 113 


is by plunging into water. The greatest ene¬ 
mies of the reindeer are the wolves which 
destroy many thousand of wild and domesti¬ 
cated reindeer every winter. The reindeer are 
herded by the aid of the Lapp dogs, a small 
variety of curs covered with long thick hair. 
They are hardy, strong, and healthy, and are 
singularly brave and intelligent. 

In spite of the fact that the Lapps have occu¬ 
pied the polar regions of Scandinavia for thou¬ 
sands of years, they are centuries behind the 
Norwegians in matters of civilization. An 
English skipper, who visited Finmark four 
hundred years ago, described the Lapps as “ a 
wild people, which neither knew God nor yet 
good order: and these people live in tents made 
of deer skins: and they have no certain habita¬ 
tions, but continue in herds of one hundred and 
two hundred. And they are a people of small 
stature, and are clothed in deers’ skins, and 
drink nothing but water, and eat no bread, but 
flesh all raw.” It is to be regretted that since 
they have been brought into more frequent 
commercial relations with the Christian races 
from the south, the Lapps no longer “ drink 
nothing but water.” 






114 


In Viking Land 


There are also some Finns in the polar sec¬ 
tions of Norway. They are taller, more sym¬ 
metrically built, and possess more intelligence 
than the Lapps, although of the same general 
racial stock. They are industrious, thrifty, and 
honest; but during late years the emigration 
from Finland to Finmark has been slight, and 
during recent times they have become assimi¬ 
lated with the Norwegians, so that the pure 
Finno-Ugrian scarcely exists to-day in Nor¬ 
way; but anthropologically the Finnish ethnic 
element in the population can still be distinctly 
traced. 




CHAPTER VIII 


NOESE BELIGIONS: OLD AND NEW 


Heathenism, Christianity, and the faith of Martin Luther —• 
Norway the most Protestant country in the world — Early 
Scandinavian mythology — Odin and Thor the supreme gods 
—- Resemblance to their Greek confreres — Minor Norse gods 
— The ancient heathen temple and its service — Sacrifice 
the chief rite — Introduction of Christianity into Norway — 
The German reformation movement — Creed of the Evan¬ 
gelical Lutheran church — Dissent and the Haugianere — 
Ecclesiastical divisions of Norway — Confirmation in the 
life of the child — Compensation and duties of the clergy. 


The religious life of the Norse people since 
the historic period has centred around hea¬ 
thenism, Christianity, and the reformed faith 
of Martin Luther. Heathenism, as was pointed 
out in a previous chapter, died hard in the 
north; and yet Norway is probably the most 
Christian country in the world. In a popula¬ 
tion of two and a quarter millions there are 
less than one hundred Hebrews. Protestantism 
likewise made slow progress at first among the 
Norse people; yet Norway is to-day probably 
the most Protestant country in the world, there 

116 


116 


In Viking Land 


being less than two thousand Roman Catholics 
in the entire country. It is likewise dominantly 
Lutheran, the dissenters — Methodists, Bap¬ 
tists, and Quakers — numbering but a few 
thousand. 

The earliest records of the heathen religion 
of Norway are found in the literary collections 
known as the eddas. These are collections 
of legends illustrative of Scandinavian myth¬ 
ology. Originally, according to the eddas, 
there was no heaven above nor earth beneath, 
only a bottomless pit with a fountain from 
which issued twelve rivers. The rivers, as they 
flowed from the fountain, froze into solid ice, 
and the bottomless pit was likewise filled with 
ice. Far to the south there was a world of 
mist, from which issued a warm wind which 
melted the ice in the frozen rivers. Vapours 
arose into the air and formed clouds, out of 
which was formed Ymir, the frost giant, and 
the cow Audhumbla. The latter nourished the 
giant by licking the salt and the hoar frost 
from the ice. 

One day when the cow was licking the salt 
stone, the hair of a man appeared; the next day 
she licked the stone a head appeared, and the 
third day an entire being. This was a god, 




Norse Religions: Old and New 1 17 


who, in union with the daughter of a giant 
race, brought forth three sons — Odin, Vili, 
and Ve. The sons slew the giant Ymir. From 
his body they formed the earth; from his bones 
the mountains; from his blood the seas and 
lakes; from his hair the trees; from his skull 
the heavens, and from his brain the clouds, 
hail, and snow. From the eyebrows of Ymir 
they formed Midgard — the mid-air — which 
was to become the abode of man. Day and 
night, the seasons, and plant-life were likewise 
provided. But the universe still lacked human 
beings. From an ash tree they formed a man, 
and from an alder a woman. Odin endowed 
them with life and souls, Vili with reason and 
action, and Ve with senses and speech. Mid¬ 
gard was assigned them as their residence and 
they became the progenitors of the Norsemen 
and all other human beings. 

A mighty ash tree that sprung from the 
body of Ymir supports the earth. This tree 
has three immense roots — Asgard, the dwell¬ 
ing place of the gods, Jotunheim, the abode of 
the giants, and Niffleheim, the region of dark¬ 
ness. Asgard contains many gold and silver 
palaces, the most beautiful of all being Val¬ 
halla, the abode of Odin. Here seated upon 




118 


In Viking Land 


his throne and guarded on either side by 
wolves, he overlooks both heaven and earth. 
Valhalla was splendidly decorated with bur¬ 
nished weapons, the ceiling made of spears, the 
roof covered with bright shields, and the walls 
decorated with the armour and coats of mail of 
the warriors. The days were spent in fighting 
and the nights in eating and carousing. The 
Valkyries, the maidens of Odin, not only se¬ 
lected the warriors who were to be slain, but 
they also waited upon them during the battle, 
filling their horns with mead and providing 
them with food in the form of swine flesh. 
When the maidens rode forth, their bright 
armour shed a strange flickering light which 
flashed up over the northern sky and caused 
the aurora borealis. 

Odin is thus represented as one of the su¬ 
preme gods of Scandinavian mythology. He 
is the god of war, who assigns victory or defeat 
to men, the slain warriors being taken to dwell 
with him in Valhalla; on the other hand, he is 
also god of wisdom and cunning, knowing all 
things. He invented the runic characters and 
gave his name to the fourth day of the week 
— Wednesday. Belief in the power of Odin 
and the pleasures of Valhalla persisted even 




Norse Religions: Old and New 119 


after the introduction of Christianity into the 
country. It will be recalled that King Haakon 
the Good had embraced the new faith, but that 
the opposition of his people was so great that 
he permitted them to worship the old gods. On 
his death-bed he was asked if he wished a 
Christian or a heathen burial. He had lived 
as a heathen, he said, and he wished to be 
buried as one. One of the scalds tells us they 
laid his body in the ground with all his weapons 
and best array, and that they “ made speeches 
at his burying as was the custom of heathen 
men to make, and sent him off on the way to 
Valhalla.’ ’ 

Thor, the oldest son of Odin, was likewise a 
powerful god, and with his enormous hammer 
he warred incessantly against the Wotans or 
mist-giants. He was drawn through the sky 
by two rams; and the rattling of his cart and 
the noise of his hammer as he hurled it at the 
heads of the fleeing giants caused the sky to 
tremble and produced the noise that men call 
thunder. After the hammer had been thrown 
it returned to the hand of Thor of its own ac¬ 
cord. He also possessed a belt which enabled 
him to double his strength by girding it tightly 
about his body. 




120 


In Viking Land 


It is not always easy to indicate the rank of 
the Norse gods. While Odin is most often 
mentioned as the supreme authority, there are 
many passages in the sagas which suggest that 
the people at large regarded Thor as their chief 
deity. All great assemblies in Norway began 
their sessions on Thor’s day — Thursday. In 
the final struggle between heathenism and 
Christianity, Thor is usually represented as 
the champion of the old faith. When King 
Olaf Haraldsson was making a strenuous ef¬ 
fort to introduce Christianity into Norway, the 
sagas report this speech: “ There has come 
hither a man named Olaf to offer us another 
faith than the one we have and to break all our 
gods in pieces, and he claims he has a greater 
and a mightier god. It is a marvel that the 
earth does not open under him when he dares 
to say such things and that our gods let him 
go any further. I expect if we carry Thor out 
of our temple where he stands, and where he 
has always stood by us, that as soon as he 
looks on Olaf and his men, then his god, him¬ 
self and his men will melt away and come to 
nought.” This and similar passages suggest 
the supremacy of Thor, but his cult may have 




Norse Religions: Old and New 121 


enjoyed special favour at this particular pe¬ 
riod. 

Like their confreres in Greece, the gods of 
Norway were not a highly celestial set of crea¬ 
tures. They were not over-choice in the use of 
language; they indulged to excess in intoxicat¬ 
ing liquors; their code of sexual morality was 
highly indiscriminating, and they spent rather 
much of their time in swilling ale and gorging 
themselves with bacon. This illustration from 
the eddas: A respectable Norse ferryman pur¬ 
sues his calling; a stranger appears on the 
opposite bank of the river and calls him to 
come and fetch him; he at first refuses; in 
pungent Billingsgate they roundly abuse one 
another; the stranger turns out to be the god 
Thor, but the ferryman is unabashed. Another 
eddaic example: Heimdall gives a feast to the 
gods; Loke, the tempter, is present as an unin¬ 
vited guest; he retails gossip of the most scan¬ 
dalous sort concerning the gods and goddesses, 
until all the celestials present are left without 
characters, when they turn him out. 

Among the minor Norse gods may be men¬ 
tioned Frey, who presided over rain, sunshine, 
fields, and pastures; Njord, his father, who 
ruled the seas; Ty, the god of fortitude and 




122 


In Viking Land 


courage, and Bragi, the god of poetry and 
song. Hero worship seems also to have been 
practised in Norway. Mention is made of of¬ 
ferings being taken to the grave-mound of 
Olaf, and after the introduction of Christianity 
the worship of grave-mounds is specifically 
forbidden. It is believed that not only men 
but also animals were worshipped, and there 
are even traces of phallic worship in Norway 
as late as the time of Olaf the Saint. 

The Norsemen erected temples in which to 
keep the images and worship the gods. These 
for the most part were small buildings con¬ 
structed of timber. It is related of a Norse 
chief who moved to Iceland that he had the* 
temple taken down to take with him to his new 
home. A few of the temples were imposing 
structures and were furnished with costly orna¬ 
ments. It is told of Olaf Trygvesson that when 
he gave orders to burn a temple at Hladir that 
“ he made them take all the treasures and or¬ 
naments out of the temple and off the images 
of the gods.” 

A pedestal in the nature of an altar stood 
in the inner part of the temple and attached 
to this was a ring on which all oaths had to 




Norse Religions: Old and New 123 


be taken. The sacrificial bowl stood on tbe 
pedestal. In it were placed the twigs with 
which the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled 
upon those present at the ceremony. The 
images of the gods were arranged round about 
the altar. All Norsemen residing in a given 
district had to pay toll to the local temple. A 
special law of the year 930 throws some light 
on the matter of pagan ecclesiastical adminis¬ 
tration: “ The land was divided into quarters 
and there were to be three places of worship 
in each quarter. Men who were noted for in¬ 
telligence were selected to have charge of the 
temples; these also had to appoint the law- 
courts at the assemblies and to superintend 
the proceedings there.’’ 

Sacrifice of living things seems to have been 
the chief rite of the ancient religion. Some¬ 
times the sacrifices were offered by the com¬ 
munity, sometimes by individuals. Men of 
wealth often acquired a reputation for piety 
by providing a munificent sacrifice at their 
own expense. Thus the saga says of Earl 
Sigurd: “ He made a great sacrificial feast 
at Hladir, and stood all the expense of it him¬ 
self.” The animals chiefly used in the sacri¬ 
fice were oxen, horses, sheep, and swine; and 



124 


In Viking Land 


on extraordinary occasions, human beings. 
While there was no distinct class of priests, 
a form of priestcraft existed, which was hered¬ 
itarily transmitted, although the chief part of 
the public worship was in the hands of the 
leading men of the community. 

As early as the ninth century zealous mis¬ 
sionaries from central Europe attempted to 
supplant Thor and his hammer by Christ and 
the cross, and by the tenth century paganism 
had spent its force in Norway. Christianity, 
as first introduced, was a compromise with ex¬ 
isting pagan notions, and it required a good 
many years before the new faith exercised 
much influence over the lives of the people. 
But when generally adopted and practised, it 
accelerated tremendously the development of 
Norse civilization; for the old faith, which 
bestowed the chief favour of the gods upon 
men who followed the trade of arms, was hos¬ 
tile to national progress. Norway took great 
strides during the centuries which followed, in 
spite of the discontent among the people caused 
by the growing power and oppression of the 
nobility and the clergy. 

The reform movement of Martin Luther 
spread rapidly from Germany to the Scandi- 




Norse Religions: Old and New 125 


navian countries. Denmark, with whom Nor¬ 
way was at the time united, had been prepared 
for the struggle by Christian II (1513-1524), 
who had abolished compulsory celibacy, pro¬ 
hibited the sale of serfs, and introduced other 
reforms at the expense of the clergy and the 
nobility. It was, however, during the reigns 
of Frederick I (1524-1533) and Christian III 
(1533-1563) that Protestantism became an ac¬ 
complished fact in Norway. The cause of re¬ 
ligion suffered unmistakably during the years 
that followed the abolition of the Roman Cath¬ 
olic rite and the suppression of the monas¬ 
teries; for Protestant ministers with compe¬ 
tency and piety were not at once forthcoming 
in sufficient numbers to meet the needs of the 
Norwegians. Eventually these faults were 
remedied and Norway has during the past four 
centuries become the most Protestant country 
in the world. 

The Evangelical Lutheran church became the 
state religion of Norway in 1537. It is based 
upon the apostolic, the Niocene-Constantino- 
ple, and the Athanasian creeds, together with 
the Augsburg confession and Luther’s shorter 
catechism. The king and his council, the cler¬ 
ical office bearers, professors of theology in 





126 


In Viking Land 


the university, and school teachers and super¬ 
intendents must be members of the established 
church. The holy days of the Lutheran church 
are protected by law, and all government and 
municipal schools are required to give religious 
instruction. Jesuits are excluded from the 
kingdom, but all other religious sects are given 
freedom of worship “ so long as they do not 
transgress the limits of law and decency. ” 
Before 1841 Jews were excluded from the coun¬ 
try, and Hebrew merchants residing in Ger¬ 
many and England had to transact their Nor¬ 
wegian business by proxy. In the constitu¬ 
tional assembly at Eidsvold in 1814 an effort 
was made to repeal this exclusion, but the 
Norse lawmakers took the view-point of one 
of the speakers that “ Norway has enough 
Jews of her own persuasion.” 

Dissent has not appreciably disturbed the 
even tenor of the Lutheran church in Norway. 
The most troublesome sect appeared at the 
beginning of the last century. It was headed 
by Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824). He trav¬ 
elled about the country and conducted services 
something after the pattern of the revival 
meetings of the Methodists. The meetings of 
the Haugianere were held at the homes of the 



Norse Religions: Old and New 127 


people, and Tidemand lias transferred to can¬ 
vas, in tlie national gallery at Christiania, a 
picture of one of these simple cottage services. 
The Norwegian government, however, was 
stirred up against them by the narrow-minded 
clergy, and notably by the intolerant bishop 
of Bergen; and Hauge was thrown into prison, 
where he lingered for nine years awaiting trial. 
He was accused of trying to set aside the re¬ 
ligion of the state, and was at last sentenced 
to two years of hard labour. His property 
was also confiscated and the people were for¬ 
bidden to read his books. Hauge was merely 
a religious zealot; he preached no new doc¬ 
trine; and, but for the persecution of the gov¬ 
ernment, the sect would probably have at¬ 
tracted very little notice. In 1845 the law pun¬ 
ishing dissenters was greatly modified, and the 
established church has gained thereby. 

Norway is divided ecclesiastically into six 
bishoprics, eighty-four archdeaconries, and 
four hundred and eighty-eight clerical dis¬ 
tricts. The king, in cooperation with the na¬ 
tional parliament, is the highest authority in 
the affairs of the established church. He ap¬ 
points the bishops and the clergy; ordains all 
the public functions of the established church, 




128 


In Viking Land 


and, through the department of education, sees 
that the public teachers of religion conform to 
the prescribed rules. 

The confirmation of children at the age of 
fourteen is the source of religious unity in 
Norway. Confirmation not only admits to the 
rites and privileges of religious life, but it is 
necessary for admission to the civil service. 
One who has not been confirmed would not only 
be denied employment in the public service, 
but he would find it difficult to obtain private 
employment. He could not contract marriage 
or assume the responsibilities of adulthood. 
Confirmation signifies the completion of the 
elementary school course and the possession 
of a definite amount of intellectual as well as 
of religious and moral training. On steamers 
one frequently finds two classes of prices, one 
for confirmed persons and one for the uncon¬ 
firmed, meaning, of course, adults and children. 
In the newspapers one may read this notice: 
“ Wanted, a confirmed cook.” The advertise¬ 
ment does not refer to the occult culinary qual¬ 
ifications of the kitchen queen, but to her age; 
it is assumed that if the individual has been 
confirmed she has reached a certain age. 

The clergy of Norway are entitled to the use 




Norse Religions: Old and New 129 


of parsonages and a certain fixed salary which 

is paid largely from local tax funds. Pastors 

% 

in town churches are paid from $1000 to $1600 
a year, and country pastors from $600 to $1000 
a year. Ecclesiastical fees, such as baptism, 
confirmation, marriage and burial, have been 
practically abolished in Norway, so that the 
incomes, plus allowance for house-rent, are 
pretty definitely established. The churches 
and church-yards, with a few exceptions, are 
the property of the congregations; but their 
superintendence falls to the king, and no 
church can be erected or altered without his 
consent. There is a diocesan board which has 
certain general duties, but the immediate di¬ 
rection of local churches falls to the pastor 
and two members of the parish who are ap¬ 
pointed by the municipal council. 

Aside from the sermon, which is an impor¬ 
tant feature of the Sunday worship, and is 
generally long, the service consists of the 
prayer of the clergyman, and the response by 
the choir and the people. The psalms are pre¬ 
sented by the village clerk, who is usually a 
local schoolmaster. The hymns are collected 
and arranged for seasons and special occasions 
in the little Bede Psalm Book, which every 




130 


In Viking Land 


worshipper brings to the service. The assem¬ 
bling of the congregation in the clmrch-yard 
for a social hour before and after the religious 
service is an interesting sight to the traveller, 
and especially picturesque is the arrival of the 
peasants of the western fjords in their little 
boats, the women assisting the men in rowing. 
Seen from a distance in their many-coloured 
national costumes, they look for all the world 
like beds of variegated poppies floating on the 
waters of the fjords. In the sparsely settled 
counties, the people do not attend religious 
services oftener than fortnightly, and there 
are sometimes long arrears of christenings, 
marriages and funerals. As in other Lutheran 
countries, the people attend religious services 
in the morning, and the balance of the day they 
spend as any other holiday, in dancing and 
other forms of amusements. The Norwegians 
are a people of religious habits; they will 
travel long distances and face all sorts of 
weather to be present at divine service; they 
have reverence for their churches and respect 
for their pastors, and up to the time of con¬ 
firmation their children are given most careful 
religious training. 





GOIN<; 











CHAPTER IX 


EDUCATION IN NOEWAY 


Common school education universal in Norway — State con¬ 
trol — Domestic education — Course of study and qualifi¬ 
cation of teachers — Secondary education — The national 
university at Christiania — Technical and special education 

— Art and industrial education — Learned societies — 
Public libraries — Newspapers and reviews — Press censor¬ 
ship during the union with Denmark — Effect of the Eids- 
vold constitution — Some of the earliest journals — News¬ 
papers and the Landsmaal — Efforts to make Norse dialects 
the official language of the country — Literary defects of the 
Landsmaal — The Dano-Norwegian and the New-Norwegian 

— Unconscious approximation of the two languages. 


Norway shares with Denmark, Sweden, and 
Finland priority in the matter of the literacy 
of her people. Universal education of a high 
degree of efficiency was one of the immediate 
results of the Protestant reformation. The 
Lutheran church in these countries made the 
completion of an elementary school course 
requisite for confirmation, and confirmation es¬ 
sential for marriage and participation in the 
social, political, and religious life. Thus the 
church has cooperated with the state in pre- 

131 


132 


In Viking Land 


venting adult illiteracy. Norway has had a 
good system of public schools for more than 
two centuries, and for seventy-five years educa¬ 
tion has been compulsory. 

Education is under the control of the minis¬ 
try of public instruction and includes the ele¬ 
mentary and secondary schools, the university, 
and the technical and special schools. The ele¬ 
mentary school course covers seven years of 
the child’s life — from the ages of seven to 
fourteen in towns and from eight to fifteen in 
the rural districts. The management of the 
schools falls to a local school board composed 
of one clergyman, one teacher, the president 
of the local council, and as many more members 
chosen from the municipal council as the coun¬ 
cil itself shall determine. The school board 
elects the teachers, draws up the budget, pro¬ 
vides for school supervision, and works out 
details in the matter of courses of study. 

School districts with an enrolment of 
twenty or more children are required to pro¬ 
vide buildings for school purposes, while in 
districts of less than twenty children the school 
may be held in rotation in the houses of the 
patrons, but the ambulatory schools of Norway 
are rapidly disappearing. The parents take 





Education in Norway 


133 


an active part in the supervision of the home 
studies of the children. This is necessitated 
by the fact that children in the rural districts 
do not always attend school full time. At 
Loen, for example, I was told by a member 
of the local school board that the children at¬ 
tended school on alternate davs, and in other 
places alternate weeks. This half-time policy 
is dictated by considerations of economy. The 
required studies in the elementary schools are 
religion, the mother tongue, penmanship, arith¬ 
metic, elementary geometry, nature study, geog¬ 
raphy, and singing. Manual training, gymnas¬ 
tics, and drawing are also compulsory in town 
schools but optional in the ungraded schools 
of the country. 

In the rural districts the number of pupils 
under one teacher at one time must not exceed 
thirty-five and in town schools forty. Co-edu¬ 
cation is the rule in the sparsely settled coun¬ 
try districts, but in the towns the sexes are 
taught separately. Teachers in the elementary 
schools must be at least twenty years old, mem¬ 
bers of the Lutheran church, and possess a 
teacher’s certificate. Certificates are of two 
kinds: provisional and permanent. The for¬ 
mer indicate the possession of qualifications 






134 


In Viking Land 


necessary for admission to a state normal 
school and entitle the holders to teach in the 
low grades of the rural schools only, and the 
latter indicate graduation from a state normal 
school and entitle the holders to permanent ap¬ 
pointment in any elementary school. There 
are eleven normal schools in Norway for the 
training of teachers. They are essentially 
high schools with abbreviated courses in meth¬ 
ods of teaching, school management, and peda¬ 
gogical subjects. 

There are also optional continuation schools 
for children who have completed the compul¬ 
sory elementary course. These schools are or¬ 
dinarily taught by the elementary teachers, but 
the course of instruction is more advanced. 
There are also county schools which continue 
the work of the elementary and the continua¬ 
tion schools. In these students may pursue 
courses in modern languages, technical draw¬ 
ing, agriculture, and horticulture. People’s 
high schools, not unlike the country academies 
in America during the last century, are found 
in many rural districts. These aim to give a 
more or less general cultural training to young 
people who have passed the ordinary school 
age. 




Education in Norway 


135 


Secondary education in Norway, as in the 
United States, is correlated with the elementary 
schools. Pupils from the lower schools pass 
directly to the middle schools, where, besides 
the advanced phases of the common school 
branches, they receive instruction in the mod¬ 
ern languages. The middle schools take chil¬ 
dren between the ages of twelve and fifteen 
years, and they aim to give a thorough general 
education, practically what is given in most 
American high schools, although in a much 
shorter time. Above the middle schools are 
the classical or literary high schools which fit 
for the university and other higher educational 
institutions. There are three elective courses 
in the classical schools — the ancient languages, 
the modern languages, and the sciences. Latin 
and Greek are no longer compulsory studies 
for all students. The secondary schools of 
Norway, as in the United States, are co-edu- 
cational, since women are now admitted to the 
university. In addition to the public second¬ 
ary schools, there are many institutions of a 
private nature which are more or less under 
the control of the municipal and national edu¬ 
cational authorities. 

The university of Christiania crowns the 





136 


In Viking Land 


system of public education in Norway. It was 
founded in 1811 and has about two thousand 
students and eighty professors and instructors. 
It is co-educational and many Norwegian 
women avail themselves of university train¬ 
ing. Now that universal suffrage prevails, it 
is probable that, as in Finland, women will 
enter parliament and become active in the po¬ 
litical life of the nation. The university is 
organized into five faculties — theology, law, 
medicine, philosophy, and science. Each fac¬ 
ulty selects from its number a dean who is the 
presiding officer for two years. The general 
management of the university is under the 
direction of the ministry of public instruction, 
although the professors are appointed by the 
king. Tuition is free and the university 
courses are open to both sexes. Connected 
with the university are the national library, 
the botanical gardens, the historical museums, 
the astronomical and magnetic observatory, 
the meteorological institute, and the marine 
biological station (at Drobak). The hospitals 
of Christiania are also affiliated with the uni¬ 
versity. The university has been the most po¬ 
tent factor in the development of the national 
consciousness and most of the contemporary 






UNIVERSITY OF CHRISTIANIA. 








































Education in Norway 


137 


leaders in politics, letters, the arts, and science 
claim the university of Christiania as their 
alma mater. 

Norway has also a reasonably efficient sys¬ 
tem of technical education. The higher tech¬ 
nical schools are located at Trondhjem, Chris¬ 
tiania, and Bergen. Admission to these insti¬ 
tutions is from the middle schools. The muni¬ 
cipalities in which they are located provide 
the plants and one-third of the running ex¬ 
penses and the state pays the remaining two- 
thirds. They are controlled by the ministry of 
public instruction. The school at Trondhjem 
provides four-year courses in engineering, ma¬ 
chinery, chemistry, and architecture. The 
school at Christiania provides all but engineer¬ 
ing, and the Bergen school offers courses in 
machinery and chemistry only. There is also 
a school for wood and metal industries at Ber¬ 
gen; a technical school for mechanics at Hor¬ 
ten, and a school for the mechanic arts at 
Porsgrund. 

There are many technical night schools or¬ 
ganized and maintained by the municipalities. 
They generally have three*-year courses and 
aim to give the information and skill necessary 
for the handicrafts. There are also so-called 




138 


In Viking Land 


workingmen’s colleges in Norway where tech¬ 
nical instruction is given in the form of lec¬ 
tures by scientific men, physicians, school-mas¬ 
ters, and military men. The lectures are given 
in the evening and the expenses are shared by 
the state, the municipalities, and the labour 
organizations. The state has a well-developed 
agricultural college at Aas near Christiania, 
and there are government forestry, naval, and 
military schools. 

The royal art and industrial school at Chris¬ 
tiania, founded in 1818, aims to train artists, 
artistic craftsmen, and teachers of art. Its 
courses include free-hand and architectural 
drawing, ornament, modelling, construction, 
and decorative painting. A music and organ 
school is supported by the government at 
Christiania; and there are, besides, schools of 
industrial art for women where fine needle¬ 
work, weaving, and dressmaking are taught. 
Other indirect educational agencies are the lit¬ 
erary and philosophical society at Christiania, 
which has charge of the Fridtjof Nansen fund 
for the advancement of science; the royal lit¬ 
erary and philosophical society at Trondhjem, 
founded as early as 1760; the national society 
for the preservation of ancient Norwegian 



Education in Norway- 


139 


monuments, and the industrial art museums at 
Christiania, Bergen, and Trondhjem. 

In the matter of public libraries Norway is 
less well provided than might be expected from 
the pronounced reading habits and the uni¬ 
versal literacy of her people. The so-called 
workingmen’s colleges have done pioneer work 
in this field, hut much more remains to be done, 
and the patriots responsible for the policies of 
the new kingdom should look to public libra¬ 
ries as a certain means of quickening the intel¬ 
lectual life of the nation. There are in all 
something like six hundred and fifty libraries 
in the country, containing from one hundred 
to ten thousand volumes. The best public li¬ 
braries are at Bergen and Christiania. The 
national library, in connection with the univer- 
sitv, is also at Christiania. 

Norway fares excellently well in the matter 
of newspapers. When the Eidsvold constitu¬ 
tion in 1814 granted complete freedom to the 
press, there was immediate and healthy devel¬ 
opment in the field of newspaperdom; and 
considering the limited wealth and the sparse 
population of the country, Norway is singu¬ 
larly favoured both in the quality and the quan¬ 
tity of her journals. Towns of eight or ten 




140 


In Viking Land 

thousand inhabitants often have as many as 
five newspapers; and Hammerfest, the most 
northern town in the world, has two newspa¬ 
pers. Many of the great dailies of Christiania 
compare very favourably with the best that is 
produced at the other capitals of Europe. Men 
of the stamp of Bjornson, Ibsen, and Nansen 
have been identified with the newspapers of 
the capital. Women, too, have played a leading 
role in Norse journalism, and Anna Bbe and 
her Urd ( Forward) have finally conquered in 
the struggle for women’s suffrage. 

While much later than most other European 
countries in the development of a periodical 
literature, during the past century Norway has 
made extraordinary progress. As early as 
1762 Bishop Nannestad began the publication 
of his 4 4 Short Weekly Treatises on Various 
Useful and Edifying Matters,” and three years 
later the first newspaper proper appeared in 
Christiania. Bergen had its first weekly news¬ 
paper in 1765 and Trondlijem in 1767. For a 
century the early newspapers of Norway had 
a monopoly from the government of all the 
advertisements of the dioceses in which they 
were published. 

Press censorship down to the time of the 






Education in Norway 


141 


union with Sweden was singularly rigid, and 
the Danish government made it almost impos¬ 
sible for the Norwegian newspapers to discuss 
political matters. It was forbidden to publish 
anything that referred to “ the state, the gov¬ 
ernment, and public institutions.” The bish¬ 
ops acted as censors of all printed matter. 
Modification of the press censorship laws at 
the beginning of the last century enabled 
Wulfsberg, de Falsen, and Platou to establish 
the significant organ of the “ Society for the 
Welfare of Norway,’’ which not only concerned 
itself with Norwegian affairs but discussed so¬ 
cial and political matters of current interest. 

It was not until the separation from Den¬ 
mark that press restrictions were removed. 
The Eidsvold constitution of 1814 provided 
that “ no person can be punished for any wri¬ 
ting, whatever its contents may be, which he 
has caused to be printed or published, unless 
he, wilfully and publicly, has either himself 
shown or incited others to disobedience to the 
laws, contempt to religion or morality or con¬ 
stitutional authorities, or resistance to their 
orders, or has advanced false or defamatory 
accusations against some one. Every one shall 
be at liberty to speak his mind frankly on the 



142 


In Viking Land 


administration of the state and on any other 
subj ect whatsoever. ’ ’ 

The Norwegian National Journal, founded 
in 1815, was the first newspaper to stand for 
free criticism. “ In this paper,” remarks 
Karl Fischer, “ the awakening consciousness 
of the peasant found expression, partly in im¬ 
petuous, often narrow-minded attacks on gov¬ 
ernment servants, partly in loud praise of the 
peasant and his importance to the community.” 
The Morning Journal, the first Norwegian 
daily, appeared in 1818, and it is still in ex¬ 
istence. For a dozen years it had a distinctly 
literary flavour, but since 1831 it has been a 
force in the political life of the nation. The 
elections of 1832 brought a large number of 
peasants into the national parliament and there 
was an awakened interest in political issues 
among all classes of the people. Henrik 
Wergeland and other literary men of distinc¬ 
tion rendered important journalistic aid to the 
new democratic movement. 

The bureaucratic or intelligence party, as it 
was called, apprehending disaster from the 
growing political importance of the peasants, 
founded the Constitution in 1836. It was ed¬ 
ited by men of marked ability like the lawyer 




Education in Norway- 


143 


and statesman Schweigaard and the poets 
Munch and Welhaven. A Norse historian says 
of it: “ By its competent treatment of the 
questions of the hour, and its multifarious 
contents, it marked a great advance in the his¬ 
tory of the Norwegian press. In politics it 
was conservative, and in the face of the fre¬ 
quently immature and narrow-minded patriot¬ 
ism of opposition papers, maintained the im¬ 
portance of a free intellectual association with 
the old sister-country, Denmark.’* 

The Evening Journal, with which Bjorn- 
stjerne Bjornson, the eminent writer, was many 
years conuected, was organized in 1855. 
“ What especially distinguished this paper,” 
remarks Mr. Fischer, “ was its news of the 
day, local information, rapidity of communica¬ 
tion of intelligence from at home and abroad, 
and also the talented treatment of artistic and 
literary questions. During the first few years, 
it retained something of the freshness it had 
inherited from its satirical predecessor, while 
at the same time it enjoyed esteem for its ur¬ 
banity and thoroughness in discussion. Polit¬ 
ically, it was at first an advocate of the pro¬ 
gramme of the reform party; but by degrees 
its want of a firm political attitude became 




144 


In Viking Land 


more apparent, as the struggle between the 
governing powers became keener, until there 
became less room for its mediatory interposi¬ 
tion. ’ ’ 

A half-dozen democratic journals originated 
during the sixties, the most significant being 
the Daily Journal (Dagbladet ), which 11 suc¬ 
ceeded in overcoming the manifold difficulties 
that a liberal paper had to fight in those days.” 
Among its distinguished contributors were 
Arne Garborg and the late Jonas Lie. There 
was less activity in Norse journalism during 
the seventies and eighties, but during the nine¬ 
ties the movement for cheap newspapers 
reached Norway. The 17th of May, established 
in 1894 and at first edited by Arne Garborg, 
is issued in Landsmaal, 4 ‘ an artificial language 
which nobody speaks. ’ * 

The Landsmaal, according to Falk, is based 
on the most antique western dialects, with oc¬ 
casional reference to the forms of the old Nor¬ 
wegian. “ Thus it is an idealized popular lan¬ 
guage, having a more antique character than 
the dialects themselves. In sound, vocabulary, 
and inflections, it is much nearer to the old 
language than is the Danish.” The 44 Lands¬ 
maal movement,” which was started by the 




Education in Norway 


145 


poet Aasen and which has been favoured by 
the political factional strife in Norway, is the 
slogan of The 17th of May. 

The language struggle, which the “ Lands- 
maal movement ” has occasioned, is an im¬ 
portant factor in the general problem of edu¬ 
cation in Norway. The war of extermination 
against the common written language of the 
country — the so-called Dano-Norwegian — is 
on in earnest. Authors of more than local tal¬ 
ent are publishing books in the native dialect 
and by legal enactment it has been placed on 
a footing with the prevailing literary language, 
thus giving Norway two official languages. In 
the rural districts, where the local dialect is 
more generally spoken, the Landsmaal may be 
taught in the schools, if desired by the patrons. 

The national movement in Norway has fa¬ 
voured a return to the old Norse, but the new- 
made language, which is based upon the dia¬ 
lects of the western coast, has not made much 
headway in the southeastern part of the coun¬ 
try, the economic centre of gravity of Norway. 
Scholars have pointed out the literary defects 
of the Landsmaal. Attention has been called 
to the fact that while the aggregate vocabulary 
of the dialects is large, it is more an abundance 





146 


In Viking Land 


than a real richness and is more conducive to 
differentiation than to unity, the same thing 
having different names in different dialects. 
Falk notes that it lacks words for a number of 
conceptions belonging to modern civilization. 
“ It cannot,” he says, “ out of its own inher¬ 
ited treasures, give us everything pertaining 
to modern life. The consequence is that when¬ 
ever the language has been employed for prac¬ 
tical use, the writer or speaker has been com¬ 
pelled either to form new words (generally by 
composition), or to adopt the words and 
phrases of the Dano-Norwegian. But as a 
matter of course, such wholesale adoption of 
linguistic material cannot but exert a destruc¬ 
tive and disintegrating effect.” 

The Landsmaal, while adapted to verse and 
folk-stories, does not lend itself readily to sci¬ 
entific, religious, and philosophic writings. 
Literary men of the first rank have in conse¬ 
quence been slightly influenced by the new 
movement. They continue to write in the 
Dano-Norwegian. Many Norwegianisms have, 
however, crept into the literary language since 
the separation from Denmark. At first re¬ 
garded as provincialisms, with the gradual 
awakening of the national consciousness, local 





Education in Norway 


147 


expressions have gained the sanction of lit¬ 
erary men like Wergeland, Asbjornsen, Moe, 
and Knudsen. If this Norwegianizing of the 
literary language of Denmark continues for a 
hundred or two years longer, it is clearly 
apparent that there will he a New-Norwegian 
language without the adoption of the artificial 
Landsmaal. 

Hjalmar Falk, 1 already quoted, says: “If 
we compare the new Norwegian language with 
the mother-tongue, we shall be able to make 
the observation, that although it has been 
under its influence the whole time, it has in 
many cases retained old peculiarities which the 
mother-tongue has afterwards given up. As 
far as our pronunciation is concerned, it agrees 
in all essential respects with the popular 
tongue in contra-distinction to the Danish. 
The hard consonants contribute greatly 
towards giving our speech a harder sound 
than the Danish with its modified sounds. Our 
accent is more like the Swedish than the Da¬ 
nish; one characteristic feature is the rising 
accent which often makes a foreigner believe 
our statements to be queries. Our speech is 

1 See: Falk’s Dansk-norskens syntax i historisk fremstilling. 
Christiania, 1000. See also his article on “ Language ” in 

‘‘Norway: Official Publication for the Paris Exposition, 1900.’* 




148 


In Viking Land 


less melodious than the Swedish; the song 
element does not play so prominent a part. 
The inflection is being continually Norwegian- 
ized, especially the formation of the plural; 
we have thousands of separate Norwegian 
words and phrases. One characteristic feature 
of our language is the numerous double forms, 
of which one, being Danish in its sound, espe¬ 
cially belongs to the literary style and the more 
select language, and regularly has a more ab¬ 
stract signification, while the other, being Nor¬ 
wegian in its form, belongs to the every-day 
speech. The word-formation is most closely 
related to Danish, although several derivatives 
have been adopted from the popular language. 
The Dano-Norwegian syntax shows many 
points of similarity with the genuine Norwe¬ 
gian one, and the same is the case with the 
order of the words in the sentence. The Nor¬ 
wegian form of the language as written very 
often lacks the grace and trimness of the Da¬ 
nish, the easy jest, the fine irony, the peri¬ 
phrastic designation. Conversationalists and 
artists in letter-writing are rare with us. Sim¬ 
plicity and strength are the qualities that we 
value the most. The simple architecture of 
the phrase is the one which comes most easy 



Education in Norway 


149 


to us. The influence of the scanty and concise 
saga style is noticeable from the days of Peder 
Clausson down to Bjornson. Even to the ten- 
derest emotions we prefer to give a virile ex¬ 
pression. There is in the voices of our best 
poets a strength and a ring which may some¬ 
times become declamatory.” 

The difference between the two languages, to 
which Falk calls attention, is the price which 
, Norway has been forced to pay for the loss of 
her independence during the four centuries 
that she was united with Denmark. The more 
sober modern Norse historians believe that an 
unconscious approximation is going on between 
the imported language and the native one. 
“ While the dialects are being influenced 
through books and schools, and the Landsmaal 
is every day adopting Dano-Norwegian words 
and phrases, other channels are leading the 
treasures of the popular language into the 
Dano-Norwegian. The dialects have come to 
be the eternal and inexhaustible fountainhead 
from which Norwegian writing and speech 
draw rejuvenescence and power of growth. 
The final result of this mutual influence will 
be a uniform literary language with a genuine 




150 


In Viking Land 


Norwegian tone.” An account of Ibsen and 
the other representatives of the New Norwe¬ 
gian literary style will be found in a later chap¬ 
ter on “ Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen.” 




CHAPTER X 


HIGHWAYS, RAILWAYS, AND WATERWAYS 


Excellent posting system in Norway — Carrioles, stolkjaerres, 
and sledges — Norwegian horses — Roads and road-building 
—• Some fine mountain highways — How the roads are kept 
in repair — State railways of Norway — Enormous cost of 
construction — Leading lines — Fjord-boating facilities — 
Lake steamers — Canals of Norway — Postal, telegraph, and 
telephone systems. 


Since the sixteenth century Norway has had 
an excellent public posting system which en¬ 
ables the traveller to go to the most remote 
parts of the country at moderate and fixed 
rates. Fast and slow posting stations are es¬ 
tablished by the government along all the na¬ 
tional highways. At the former, horses must 
be kept in readiness; whereas, at the latter, 
the horses may be in distant fields at work, 
and a couple of hours may elapse before the 
traveller can proceed upon his journey. The 
rates, which are determined by the govern¬ 
ment, are, from fast stations, about seven 
cents a mile for a horse and two-wheeled con- 


151 


152 


In Viking Land 


veyance or sledge; but from slow stations 
they are scarcely more than half that price. 
When the road is over very steep mountains 
an extra fare is charged, usually double; but 
this is a government regulation and is always 
understood. The posting stations are, for the 
most part, isolated and solitary farms. The 
farmers undertake to provide rooms and 
meals, as well as drivers, horses, and convey¬ 
ances. Stations are usually from seven to fif¬ 
teen miles apart, and farmers are required to 
convey the traveller only as far as the next 
station. 

Two kinds of wagons are used, the carriole 
and the stolkjaerre. The carriole resembles an 
American sulky, except that it is springless, 
and nearly the entire weight is forward of the 
axle. It is a two-wheeled gig with the body 
shaped like the bowl of a spoon. The seat, in 
front of the axletree, is fastened by cross¬ 
pieces to the long slender shafts that project 
behind and provide a place for light luggage 
and a seat for the driver. The carriole is for 
one passenger. It is falling into disuse, and 
its place is being taken by the stolkjaerre, a 
two-wheeled cart that will carry two pas¬ 
sengers. It also has long shafts which extend 




NORWEGIAN CARRIOLE 











Highways, Railways, Waterways 153 


under the axletree to make a support for the 
luggage and a seat for the driver. The pas¬ 
senger’s seat is in front, perched on two 
wooden bars stretched obliquely upwards and 
backwards from the front of the vehicle. The 
drivers, usually males although sometimes 
girls, vary in age from six to sixty years. 

The Norwegian horses are stout, stubby, and 
spirited little beasts. They are cream- 
coloured, high crested, and have black manes 
and tails; the manes are cropped, except the 
forelocks, which are left to protect the eyes 
from the sun, and the tails are very full. 
Horses are valued in Norway by the size and 
fulness of the tails. They are remarkably 
hardy, abstemious, sure-footed, and docile. 
Their usual pace is from six to seven miles an 
hour, although they invariably gallop down 
hill at a break-neck speed. Nowhere outside 
of Mohammedan countries does one see horses 
so kindly treated as in Norway. The well-nigh 
invariable rule in Christian countries is great 
cruelty toward horses and all other dumb 
creatures; but the Norsemen have, in some 
way, imbibed the teachings of the Prophet of 
Mecca in their treatment of their horses. At 
posting stations and in stables one frequently 



154 


In Viking Land 


sees this motto: “ Vaer god mod hesten ”— 
“ Be good to the horse.” Norwegian horses 
are so trustworthy and intelligent that tour¬ 
ists, as well as peasants, soon get to look upon 
them in the light of companions. 

In spite of the enormous expense and diffi¬ 
culties in the way of road-building, Norway 
may be said to have an excellent system of 
state highways. The terraces of the mountain 
valleys along narrow river beds, where roads 
are generally obliged to wind, present great 
difficulties; and the steep slopes of the moun¬ 
tain plateaus, particularly those that go down 
the abrupt west slopes to the fjords, require 
engineering skill of the highest order. And 
yet I know of no other mountain roads quite 
equal in excellence to the three Norwegian 
roads from Stalheim to Gudvangen, from Lorn 
to Geiranger, and over the Fillefjeld to Lser- 
dalsoren. The Geiranger road makes a descent 
of 3,500 feet in less than ten miles. Many of 
the mountain roads in Norway lie so near the 
limit of perpetual snow that they are practi¬ 
cable for carriages not more than two months 
of the year; and at the highest point of the 
national highway from Rodal to Odde, over the 
Haukelfjeld, it was necessary to take the road 



Highways, Railways, Waterways 155 


through a tunnel to avoid the eternal ice-field. 

The expense and energy necessary to keep 
the roads in repair and open during the long 
winter months are something enormous. For 
the most part, the roads are kept in repair 
by the property-owners along the route. Each 
farmer has a portion of road — the length 
determined by the value of his farm — which 
he is required to keep in repair; and the little 
wooden posts along the highway, surmounted 
by small gables to protect them from the 
weather, indicate the names of the farmers 
responsible for the care of the various sections. 
Similarly the farmers are required to keep the 
roads open during the winter months. This 
is done by means of huge triangular wooden 
ploughs. The fact that Norway, a poor and 
sparsely settled country, has spent more than 
seventeen million dollars on public highways 
during the past fifty years speaks volumes for 
the intelligence and progressive character of 
her people. 

Norway has only one mile of railway for 
every one hundred square miles of land; but 
the mountainous character of the country, the 
heavy snowfall during the long winters, and 
the thin, scattered population make railway 




156 


In Viking Land 


construction almost prohibitive. Nevertheless, 
the new kingdom lias made a commendable be¬ 
ginning, and the state has plans for enormous 
extensions during the next twenty-five years. 
There are now nine railway lines in the coun¬ 
try, with a total mileage of one thousand five 
hundred and eighty-four, about half of which 
is broad gauge. The state railways have been 
constructed partly by subscriptions taken in 
the districts interested in the construction of 
new lines and partly at the expense of the na¬ 
tional government. 

The leading railway lines radiate from 
Christiania to Stockholm, Goteborg, Trond- 
hjem, Gudbransdal, T'elemarken, and the Val- 
ders. The longest line — three hundred and 
fifty miles — is from Christiania to Trondhjem 
through Hamar. There is also a relatively 
long line — one hundred and ninety miles — 
from Christiania up the Gudbrandsdal by Lake 
Mjosen and through Lillehammer to Otta. 
Two years ago (1906) the Valders railway con¬ 
necting Christiania with Fagernaes — a dis¬ 
tance of one hundred and thirty-one miles — 
was opened. This line will connect with the 
railway that is being built from Bergen and 
the west coast. The western branch is already 





RAILWAY FROM BERGEN TO VOSSEVANGEN 








Highways, Railways, Waterways 157 


completed from Bergen to Gulsvik, a distance 
of one hundred miles. One tenth of this line 
is through tunnels, and for sixty miles it is at 
an elevation of over 2,300 feet. There is a 
short line from Christiansand to Bygland — 
forty-nine miles; from Stavanger to Flekke- 
fjord — ninety-four miles; from Hell to Sun- 
nan — eighty-live miles; and twenty-three 
miles of the Ofoten railway, connecting Nar¬ 
vik, near the North Cape, with Stockholm (the 
most northernly iron road in the world), passes 
through Norwegian territory. Norway spends 
about live million dollars a year on the exten¬ 
sion of railways. 

When it is recalled that two-thirds of the 
inhabitants of Norway live upon the coasts 
and fjords, the large part which water traffic 
plays in the economy of the country will be 
easily understood. The coast being well pro¬ 
tected by a chain of islands, the skjaergaard, 
both travel and commerce are carried on by 
means of small open boats. The fjord row¬ 
boats, as a rule, are light and pointed, with 
upright and high prow, and they carry a square 
sail. They are light to row and they go cap¬ 
itally before the wind. There is an extensive 
government posting system on the coasts, 




158 


In Viking Land 


fjords, and inland lakes, similar to that along 
the public highways already described. The 
tariff from fast stations for a four-oared boat 
and sail with two rowers is about twelve cents 
a mile; eighteen cents for three rowers and 
a six-oared boat, and twenty-four cents a mile 
for a boat with eight oars and four rowers. 
The tariff is determined by the size of the boat 
and not by the number of passengers. The 
rowers are not infrequently girls and women. 

The large fjords and lakes have ample 
steamboat facilities, the coast service between 
Bergen and Trondhjem being especially good. 
The navigable channels of the fjords represent 
a coast line of twelve thousand miles, and they 
are so entirely separated from the sea by 
islands and reefs, and obstructed at their en¬ 
trances by old moraines, that the fresh water 
from the melting snows and rivers lies four 
or five feet deep on the surface. Small steam¬ 
ers ply on all the larger fjords on which the 
rates are moderate and the accommodations 
fair. On most of these boats a passenger pays 
full fare for himself and half fare for the other 
members of his family, including his wife. 

There is an excellent fjord service of 
steamer-yachts that makes the tour of the most 



Highways, Railways, Waterways 159 


picturesque fjords during the short summer. 
It has two beautiful steamer yachts, “ Haakon 
VII ” and “ Irma,” which make the trip from 
Bergen to Trondhjem and back in about ten 
days, visiting the most interesting of the west- 
coast fjords. The service is excellent, and 
travellers, who do not object to being rounded 
up and shipped from place to place like so 
many western steers, will find the steamer- 
yacht service the most comfortable and expe¬ 
ditious. It was concerning this route that the 
English historian Froude wrote: “ The scen¬ 
ery, though for ever changing, changes like the 
pattern of a kaleidoscope, the same materials 
readjusted in varying combinations; the same 
rivers of sea water, the same mountain walls, 
the same ice and snow on the summits, the 
same never-ending pines and birches, with an 
emerald carpet between the stems where the 
universal whortleberry hides the stones under 
the most brilliant green.” 

There are also two canals in Norway that 
are used for passenger traffic — the Fredrik- 
shald canal, connecting the Fernsjoen and 
Skullerud lakes, and the Skien-Nordsjo-Ban- 
dak canal, connecting the Nordsjo lake with 
the Hitterdal and the Bandak lakes. Between 




160 


In Viking Land 


the Hitterdal and the Nordsjo lake there is a 
rise of fifty feet which is overcome by two 
locks at Skien and four at Loveid; and between 
the Nordsjo and the Bandak lakes there is a 
rise of one hundred and eighty-seven feet, 
which is overcome by fourteen locks, five of 
which are around a waterfall — the Vrangfos 
— where the average rise for each lock is about 
thirteen feet. 

The postal, telegraph, and telephone sys¬ 
tems, all under government control, are both 
cheaper and more efficient than in the United 
States, where the two latter are private monop¬ 
olies. With the exception of Switzerland, Nor¬ 
way is more abundantly supplied with post- 
offices, in proportion to her size, than any other 
country in the international postal union. The 
length of her telegraph lines, in relation to the 
population of the country, is greater than in 
any other country in the world. 

With such splendid highways, railways, wa¬ 
terways, postal, telegraph, and telephone serv¬ 
ice, the tourist may well agree with Professor 
Hjalmar H. Boyesen, that the Norsemen are 
a wonderful people and Gamle Norge a beau¬ 
tiful country. “ The ocean roars along its 
rock-bound coast,’’ he writes rhapsodically, 





STEAMER - YACHT, “ HAAKON VII.” 



LOCK IN THE SKEIN - NORDSJO - BANDAR CANAL 












Highways, Railways, Waterways 161 


“ and during the long dark winter the storms 
howl and rage, and hurl the waves in white 
showers of spray against the sky. Great 
swarms of. sea-birds drift like snow over the 
waters, and circle screaming round the lonely 
cliffs. The aurora borealis flashes like a huge 
shining fan over the northern heavens, and the 
stars glitter with a keen frosty splendour. 
But in the summer all this is changed, sud¬ 
denly as by a miracle. Then the sun shines 
warmly, even within the polar circle, innu¬ 
merable wild flowers sprout forth, the swelling 
rivers dance singing to the sea, and the birches 
mingle their light green foliage with the darker 
needles of the pines. In the southern districts 
it is light throughout the night, even during 
the few hours when the sun dips beneath the 
horizon; the ocean spreads like a great bur¬ 
nished mirror under the cloudless sky, the 
fishes leap, and the gulls and eider-ducks rock 
tranquilly upon the waters. All along the 
coast there are excellent harbours, which are 
free of ice both winter and summer. A mul¬ 
titude of islands, some rocky and barren, oth¬ 
ers covered with a scant growth of grass and 
trees, afford hiding-places for ships and pas¬ 
turage for cattle. Moreover, long arms of the 




162 


In Viking Land 


ocean, the so-called fjords, penetrate far into 
the country, and being filled with water from 
the gulf stream, which strikes the western coast 
of Norway, tend greatly to modify the cli¬ 
mate. ’ ’ 




CHAPTER XI 


FARM - LIFE AND AGRICULTURE 


Small proportion of the land surface susceptible to cultiva¬ 
tion — Farmers small proprietors — Variety of agricultural 
products — Haymaking — Horses and cattle —Buildings on 
a Norwegian farmstead — The stabur — The mountain 
saeter — Dairying — Simple food — Varied industrial activi¬ 
ties of the farmers — Norwegian names — How emigration 
has influenced agriculture — Attempts to improve agricul¬ 
tural conditions — Land and cultivation loans — Agricultural 
societies and education — Increase of price in landed prop 
erty — The cotter system — Entails and community prop¬ 
erty. 

When it is recalled that sixty per cent, of 
the surface of Norway is occupied by bare 
mountains, twenty-one per cent, by woodlands, 
eight per cent, by grazing lands, four per cent, 
by lakes, and two per cent, by ice-fields, it will 
be seen that very little remains for meadows 
and cultivated fields. As a matter of fact onlv 

•j 

seven-tenths of one per cent., or one one-hun¬ 
dred and fortieth of the land surface of the 
country, is under cultivation. Yet agriculture 
employs more men and yields larger monetary 
returns than any other occupation in Norway, 

163 


164 


In Viking Land 


The products of the farms equal the combined 
returns from shipping, lumber, and fisheries. 

Nine-tenths of the farms of Norway are 
owned by small proprietors; and, although 
the right to dispose of landed property is rel¬ 
atively free, the laws of the country favour 
the retention of the farms in the families pos¬ 
sessing them. An old allodial right makes it 
possible to redeem at an appraised value a 
farm that has been sold. This right is ac¬ 
quired after the property has belonged to the 
family for twenty years, but it is lost after the 
farm has been in possession of strangers for 
three years. The best farms are about the 
banks of lakes and in the narrow river valleys; 
and although Norway has only seven hundred 
and forty square miles of land under cultiva¬ 
tion, there are numerous fertile meadows 
which are never plowed. 

In a country extending through thirteen de¬ 
grees of latitude one might naturally expect 
a wide range of agricultural products. In the 
southeastern part of Norway, most of the 
plants and orchard fruits of central Europe 
are found; whereas, in Finmark and the 
northern sections, it is impossible to grow even 
the most hardy plants. Oats, barley, and rye 





A FJORD FARM 











Farm Life and Agriculture 165 


are the chief cereals, but their production 
scarcely meets the needs of the country. Po¬ 
tatoes are the only root crops extensively culti¬ 
vated. While the summers are short, vege¬ 
tables and small fruit do excellently during the 
long sun-lit hours. Norwegians, however, do 
not seem habituated to a vegetable diet, and 
the cultivation of root plants seems very gen¬ 
erally neglected. Pears, cherries, apples, rasp¬ 
berries, gooseberries, and currants may be 
grown under favourable conditions; but they 
play a minor role in Norwegian horticulture. 

Haymaking is the serious business of the 
Norwegian farmer. Every blade of grass rep¬ 
resents money, and money is scarce in Nor¬ 
way; and where there is little to earn and 
many to keep, to borrow Charles Kingsley’s 
expression, great skill and ingenuity are dis¬ 
played in the collection and the care of the hay. 
The women and girls take their place in the 
hay-fields with the men and boys in the mow¬ 
ing, raking, and drying of the hay. Hay-racks 
form a part of the agricultural equipment of 
the Norwegian farmer, and they are conspic¬ 
uous objects in the landscape. Stakes four or 
five feet high and two or three inches in diam¬ 
eter are stuck in the ground about four feet 



166 


In Viking Land 


apart. Horizontal poles a foot apart are fas¬ 
tened to the stakes with birch-withe bands, and 
upon these poles the hay is hung to be dried. 

The united powers of sun and wind dry the 
hay very rapidly; and in a country where rain¬ 
fall is frequent, it is necessary not only to make 
hay but to dry it while the sun shines. This 
swift drying process gives the hay a fresh look 
and a delicious odour; and I was told that it 
was more nutritious and wholesome than the 
yellow withered stuff called hay in the United 
States. Some of the hay is collected along the 
narrow edges of the fjords, but much of it 
comes from the steep uplands, and is brought 
to the valley by means of a thick galvanized 
wire stretched from the cliff to the bottom of 
the valley, where it is fastened to the end of 
a windlass. A bale of hay is attached to the 
wire at the top of the mountain, the wire is 
tightened by the windlass, and the hay de¬ 
scends rapidly to the valley. 

The cow is a staple of wealth to the people 
of Scandinavia. The Norwegian cow is dimin¬ 
utive in size, dun-coloured, docile in habits, 
and an excellent milk producer. I was told 
that one of these delicate-looking cows, if well 
fed, would average from six hundred to nine 







HAYING IN THE FJORDS. 



DRYING HAY 







Farm Life and Agriculture 


167 


hundred gallons of milk a year. The moun¬ 
tain saeters are the centres of the butter and 
cheese industry during the summer months. 

Norway is abundantly supplied with an ex¬ 
cellent breed of small but hardy horses. The 
cream-coloured fjord horses' are only sixty 
inches high. They are active, hardy, and gen¬ 
tle ; and in the mountainous parts of the coun¬ 
try they are vastly more serviceable than mules 
would be. The Gudbransdalen breed, found 
chiefly in the mountain valleys, are larger than 
the fjord horses, and they are generally brown 
or black in colour. Good horses in Norway 
bring surprisingly high prices. Working 
horses cost from $200 to $350 and the best 
stallions bring as much as $2,500. 

A Norwegian farmstead as a rule includes 
a cluster of buildings—(1) a dwelling-house, 
(2) an out-kitclien (ildhaus), (3) a storehouse 
(stabur), (4) a bath or smoke-house (badstue), 
(5) barns and sheds, and (6) a mountain dairy 
(sseter). The better farmhouses are wooden 
structures built on massive stone foundations, 
and those of the poorer farmers are log-framed 
structures roofed with birch bark and turf-sod. 
The interiors of most farmhouses are finished, 
not with plaster and wall-paper, but just with 




168 


In Viking Land 


good honest wood. There is generally one 
room of fair size that serves the manifold pur¬ 
pose of kitchen, dining-room, assembly hall, 
and sleeping chamber. Here also the indoor 
industries are carried on during the long win¬ 
ter months. The larger farmhouses have a 
small bed-chamber for the farmer and his wife, 
and sometimes there are sleeping apartments 
on the second floor for the children. 

An out-kitchen is usually built near the 
dwelling. Such domestic occupations as wash¬ 
ing, baking, and brewing are performed here; 
and here the fladbrod, the Norwegian staff of 
life, is manufactured. Fladbrod is made from 
the unfermented dough of barley and oatmeal; 
it is rolled out on a large board to the thinness 
of a wafer and two or three feet in diameter; 
it is then baked on a large iron griddle which 
is kept hot by glowing embers beneath, after 
which it is stored away for use during the 
year. 

Near the dwelling is the stabur, or store¬ 
house, which is built on piles about four feet 
from the ground. It has special compartments 
for flour, dried and salted fish and meat, blan¬ 
kets, sheepskins, and such household appurte¬ 
nances as are not required during the summer 





A NORWEGIAN “ MAUD MULLER.” 









Farm Life and Agriculture 169 


months. The year’s supply of fladbrod is gen¬ 
erally ranged along the walls of the stabur in 
great piles. 

The bath-house, still found on some farms 
where it is more often used for smoking meat 
or storing grain, has fallen into disuse since 
the introduction of Christianity into Norway. 
During pagan days vapour baths were common 
in the country and freely used, hut the Chris¬ 
tian priests and monks took up arms against 
the care of the body, which was flesh and rep¬ 
resented the devil; and they set themselves so 
strongly against the bathing habit that the 
badstue is no longer regarded as a necessary 
building of a Norwegian farmstead. There 
are also on the farms the necessary barns and 
sheds for the horses and the cattle with lofts 
for the hay. 

A saeter, or mountain dairy, is connected 
with most Norwegian farms. It is a small 
building on the mountains, where some mem¬ 
bers of the family, usually the girls, live dur¬ 
ing the summer months. Saeters are often 
from twenty to forty miles away, and they are 
reached only by tortuous and dangerous moun¬ 
tain paths. In the late spring the cattle are 
taken hither by young women and girls who 





170 


In Viking Land 


make butter and cheese, gather hay, knit stock¬ 
ings, and embroider linen during the two or 
three months they live here. The dwelling is 
usually a rude log hut with a single room, mud 
floor, an open fireplace without chimney, and 
a few pieces of rough extemporized furniture. 
Sheds and pens surround the hut, and there 
are patches of enclosed ground where hay is 
made and where the younger members of the 
flocks are protected. The cattle are called at 
night by a horn made of birch bark. When 
blown lustily it gives a clear note not unlike 
the cornet, and the cattle invariably respond 
to its sound. 

The saeter is of the utmost importance to the 
small farmer. The meagre pittance of ground 
which surrounds his homestead is insufficient 
to supply his simplest needs; but the saeter not 
only furnishes pasture for his cattle, but it 
often provides the winter’s supply of hay. 
Tourists do not customarily envy Norse maid¬ 
ens their long summer’s isolation; but Bjorn- 
son, one of the first Norwegian authors, writes 
of it: “ The life up there in the vast solitude, 
with the snow-capped mountains in the dis¬ 
tance, often with a mountain lake close by, with 
the cow-bells, the baying of dogs, the sound of 





MOUNTAIN S.UTF.R 










Farm Life and Agriculture 171 

- - - - - 

the mountain horns, and the hallooing of the 
girls — life up there with its peaceful work 
and the solemn stillness of the evening after 
the work is done — is the happiest a Norwe¬ 
gian peasant knows.’’ 

The late King Oscar II of Norway and 
Sweden wrote concerning a visit which he paid 
to a saeter in the Sogne district: 41 How strange 
the saeter life and dwellings appear. How poor 
at first sight and yet how hearty and unex¬ 
pectedly lavish is the hospitality which the sim¬ 
ple children of the mountains extend to the 
weary traveller. Milk, warm from the cows, 
fresh-churned butter, reindeer meat, and a cou¬ 
ple of delicious trout which we have just seen 
taken from the lake below, form a regal feast 
indeed; and spiced with the keen appetite 
which the air up here creates, the meal can only 
be equalled by the luxury of reposing on a soft 
couch of fresh fragrant hay.” 

The food of the Norwegian farmers is sim¬ 
ple and monotonous. Fish — salt, dried, and 
fresh — plays a leading role in the diet; also 
the flesh of the reindeer. Vegetables, to except 
potatoes, there are none. There are ten kinds 
of cheese of all ages, colours, and apparent 
ingredients. One of the favourites is goat’s 






172 


In Viking Land 


cheese made from whey which is boiled until 
all the water has been evaporated, when it be- ' 
comes dark brown in colour. A fermented 
cheese made from sour skim milk is also a 
favourite. Quantities of fladbrod are eaten, 
and in some sections porridge and milk. Demo¬ 
cratic notions everywhere prevail, and the help 
always eat with the family. 

Because of his isolation, the Norwegian 
fanner is usually jack-of-all-trades, — black¬ 
smith, carpenter, tanner, and miller, in addition 
to being farmer. He grinds his grain between 
his own mill-stones at a little water-mill; and 
formerly he made most of the scant furniture 
and the household utensils. At an earlier 
period the Norwegian farmer possessed con¬ 
siderable skill in the use of wood, and his ac¬ 
complishments ranged from wooden spoons to 
timber houses. He was likewise singularly deft 
at carving, and both spoon and house were 
often highly ornamented. By means of the 
hand-loom which he built, his wife and daugh¬ 
ters wove homespun from flax and wool which 
clothed the family and furnished the bedding, 
table linen, etc. 

Places and people in Norway generally take 
the names of farms. Thus I found at Loen 




173 


Farm Life and Agriculture 

that all the people residing there were named 
Loen, although not necessarily related by blood 
ties. If a young man, say Hans Loen, ac¬ 
quires a farm at Aure by marriage, he is there¬ 
after known as Hans Aure. Father and son 
may have different family names if they hap¬ 
pened to be born in different places, as is some¬ 
times the case. 

The agricultural interests of Norway have 
suffered unmistakably by the enormous emi¬ 
gration to the United States. Two-thirds of 
the Norwegians of the world live in Wisconsin, 
Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. Nearly 
every Norwegian farmstead has kinsmen in our 
country; and the strong and vigorous always 
emigrate, thus leaving the farms at home in 
charge of the old and the infirm. America has 
been greatly benefited by this almost incessant 
exodus; for the Norse peasants have without 
an exception made splendid citizens, the best, 
in fact, that have come to us from Europe. 

Commenting on the enormous emigration 
from the Norwegian farms, William Eleroy 
Curtis remarks: “Notwithstanding the large 
emigration of young people, for whom the 
Norwegian farms are too small, it is apparent 
that the development of Norway is continually 





174 


In Viking Land 


progressing along the highest lines, and that 
the tendency of the people is upward, socially 
and industrially, in culture and in wealth. The 
population of the kingdom not only holds its 
own, but shows a slight increase, which seems 
remarkable because of the continual drain of 
young, able-bodied men and women who have 
removed to our western states. In all public 
movements, in all social, commercial, and in¬ 
dustrial activities, in art, science, and litera¬ 
ture, in wealth and prosperity, Norway stands 
abreast of the most advanced nations of Eu¬ 
rope ; but its progress is not won without 
greater effort than any other people put forth, 
and the application of thrift and industry else¬ 
where unknown, but which is required in a 
climate so bleak and inhospitable and by a soil 
so wild and rocky. None but a race like the 
Norsemen could have kept a foothold here.” 

Norwegian economists recognize the loss to 
the country through emigration, and in recent 
years the national parliament has attempted 
to improve the condition of the agricultural 
labourers. A fund of $135,000 has been set 
aside by the government for the purchase of 
land. Loans are granted to municipalities (1) 
for the purpose of buying large estates to be 




Farm Life and Agriculture 175 


assigned to people without means at the pur¬ 
chase price, in plots of not more than twelve 
acres of tillable soil, and (2) for the purpose 
of being granted as loans on the security of 
parcels of the same size, which people without 
means may acquire as freehold property. The 
interest on these loans is from three to four 
per cent., and the time of payment is up to 
twenty-five years. 

There is also a cultivation fund of $270,000 
from which loans are granted for the purpose 
of cultivating and draining the soil. The in¬ 
terest is two and one-half per cent, and the 
time of repayment is up to twenty years, in¬ 
cluding five years in which no instalments are 
required. Such loans are granted (1) on the 
security of mortgages and (2) on the guaran¬ 
tee of the municipality. 

Agriculture societies — national and county 
— receive government grants for the purpose 
of holding meetings and issuing documents 
that might be of service to the farmers. There 
is also a staff of surveyors paid by the state 
to assist in the public allotment of land and 
otherwise to render assistance to needy lot- 
owners. 

Considerable attention is also being given 




176 


In Viking Land 


to the matter of agricultural education. Con¬ 
nected with the state agricultural college is an 
experimental farm, where not only farmers but 
also dairymen, gardeners, and foresters re¬ 
ceive practical instruction. 

While farm-lands in most of the countries of 
Europe are steadily decreasing in price, in 
Norway there has been marked increase even 
during times of agricultural depression. The 
return of many natives from the United States 
has doubtless been a factor in the increased 
valuation of farm-lands. Tandberg calls at¬ 
tention to the fact that the Norwegian farms 
being small, the fall in prices of landed prop¬ 
erty has chiefly affected the larger estates, and 
that in Norway more than in any other country 
in Europe farming is combined with other 
means of livelihood, such as forestry and fish¬ 
ing; and when times have been favourable for 
the latter, this has also benefited husbandry. 

Connected with the larger farms of Norway 
are cotters’ places — farm labourers who have 
leased a small part of the farm for a definite 
period (often during their natural lives). In 
some cases the cotter leases only a building- 
lot with a garden attached; in other cases sev¬ 
eral acres of ground. The cotter is usually 



Farm Life and Agriculture 177 


required to work on the farm of the owner at 
certain times of the year for a small wage reg¬ 
ulated by contract. There are something more 
than thirty thousand cotters in the country, but 
the number is steadily decreasing. The sys¬ 
tem, it is claimed, produces capable and reli¬ 
able workmen not only for the farms but also 
for the various trades. 

It is no longer permitted to establish entails 
which cannot be sold or mortgaged, and the 
national government in recent years has sought 
to further the partition and allotment of the 
common ownership of land. Pastures and 
other grazing lands are still often held by the 
community, and similarly mountain pastures. 
But the community farms, when the consent 
of all the part-owners and tenants has been 
secured, may now be partitioned by surveyors 
appointed by the public authorities. 




CHAPTER XII 


FORESTS, FISHERIES, AND COMMERCE 

Cast forest lands of Norway — Conifers the most important 
trees — Extensive use of birch for wood-pulp — The lumber 
industries — Value of timber products — Importance of the 
fisheries — Cod, herring, and mackerel — Crew of a fishing 
smack — Handicraft industries in Norway — Manufactures 
— Mineral products — Importance of commerce — Exports 
and imports — Foreign trade relations. 


More than a fifth of the area of Norway is 
covered with forests. The chief woodlands are 
in the basins of the Trondhjem and the Chris¬ 
tiania fjords and on the eastern slopes of the 
Langfjeld. In Nordland, Tromso, and Fin- 
mark there are limited scattered forest areas, 
but the west coast south of Trondhjem is prac¬ 
tically devoid of forests, except on islands and 
promontories where protection is afforded 
from the sea-winds. Six per cent, of Finmark, 
the northernmost county, is covered by forests, 
and sixty-four per cent, of Akershus, an inland 
county north of Christiania. One-fourth of the 
districts of Norway have a surplus of forests, 

178 


Forests, Fisheries, and Commerce 179 


one-fourth have sufficient for their own use, 
and the balance are required to buy. 

Three-fourths of the forest area of the 
country are covered with conifers and one- 
fourth with foliage trees. The Scotch fir, the 
spruce, and the hardy birch, with a sprinkling 
of elm, ash, and oak, constitute the chief trees 
of the country. On the eastern slopes of the 
plateaus the fir and spruce forests are found 
up to an altitude of 2,500 feet above sea-level; 
from that elevation to 3,500 the birch, and 
above 3,500 shrubs and dwarf birch. North of 
the polar circle the birch is predominant and 
forms the great hulk of the forests. There are 
two kinds of birch — the lowland, or white 
birch with its graceful, drooping branches, and 
the hardy mountain birch which is darker in 
colour and more stunted in form. 

The existence of the Norwegian forests is 
threatened by the fact that the spruce of that 
country contains a relatively small amount of 
resin and is in much demand in the manufac¬ 
ture of paper. But if the modern world de¬ 
mands newspapers as large as barn doors the 
forests of Norway will have to suffer. The 
bark of the spruce is used for tanning and that 
of the birch for roofing. The leaves of the lat- 




180 


In Viking Land 


ter also provide fodder for the cattle and the 
sheep. 

In the great timber district of the mountain 
ranges drained by the Glommen river, the trees 
are felled in winter and the logs are dragged 
to the tops of the steep mountain sides where 
they are slid down to the river or they are 
carted on sledges to the river’s edge. During 
the early summer, after the ice has gone, and 
while the rivers are yet full of water, they are 
floated down the streams to the saw-mills. But, 
as the logs are constantly driven into corners 
by strong currents or are piled up against the 
piers of bridges, floaters are employed along 
the rivers to keep them free. Log-floating is 
both the most dangerous and the most un¬ 
healthful occupation in Norway. Men often 
fall into the streams; they are forced to sleep 
on the cold ground in uninhabited parts of the 
country; they frequently fall from the rolling 
logs into the whirling currents and are tossed 
against the sharp rocks; and the marvel is not 
that the death rate among floaters is so high, 
but that any of them survive the perilous occu¬ 
pation. 

The value of the exports of forest products 
and timber industries reaches about eighteen 




IN THE PINE FOREST ZONE 









Forests, Fisheries, and Commerce 181 


million dollars a year and the combined forest 
industries furnish employment to a large num¬ 
ber of labourers. The state forests occupy 
about 3,500 square miles, more than half being 
located in the northern provinces of Tromso 
and Finmark. The state also has nurseries at 
Vossevangen and Hamar and three forestry 
schools, by means of which widespread interest 
in tree-planting has been aroused. Destructive 
forest fires and the slaughter of the trees by 
the remarkable development of the wood-pulp 
industries have emphasized in recent times the 
need of larger forest reserves and closer gov¬ 
ernment supervision. Under the most favour¬ 
able conditions the pine requires from seventy- 
five to one hundred years to yield timber 
twnnty-five feet in length and ten inches in 
diameter at the top. Spruce will reach the 
same size in seventy-five or eighty years. In 
the higher altitudes of the central part of the 
country the pine requires one hundred and 
fifty years and in the northern provinces two 
hundred years. The pine rarely exceeds one 
hundred feet in height and it decreases toward 
the coast and northwards. 

The fisheries of Norway are among the most 
important in the world, yielding the nation 




182 


In Viking Land 


more tlian seven million dollars a year and 
furnishing employment to eighty thousand 
men. The sea-fisheries play the chief part in 
this branch of industry. The long coast line 
and the great ocean depth near the coast com¬ 
bine to give the fisheries of Norway unusual 
advantages. Their abundance is also due to 
the presence of masses of glutinous matter, ap¬ 
parently living protoplasm, which furnishes 
nutriment for millions of animalcules which 
again become food for the herring and other 
fish. The fish are mainly of the round sort 
found in deep waters, the cod, herring, and 
mackerel being the most important. 

The cod yields the largest monetary returns. 
This fish migrates to the coast of Norway to 
spawn and in search of food. The best cod fish¬ 
eries are in Romsdal, Nordland, and Tromso 
counties, the Lofoten islands in Tromso alone 
furnishing employment to more than four thou¬ 
sand men. The cod weighs from eight to 
twenty pounds and measures from five to six 
feet in length. Some are merely dried after 
having been cleaned. This is done by hanging 
them by the tail on wooden frames. The others 
are sent to the salting stations where they are 
salted and dried on the flat rocks. A fish weigh- 





A FISHING VILLAGE. 



DRYING CODFISH 







Forests, Fisheries, and Commerce 183 


ing ten pounds will yield two pounds of salted 
cod, the loss being due to the removal of the 
head and entrails and the drying out of the 
water. 

There are numerous secondary products 
from the cod, the most valuable being the cod 
liver oil. The livers of the fish are exposed to 
a jet of superheated steam which destroys the 
liver cells and causes the small drops of oil to 
run together. The roe are salted and sent to 
France for bait in the sardine fisheries, and 
manure is made from the heads and entrails. 

The herring shoals are less certain than the 
cod. Unless it is an off year, however, they 
come to Norway in winter and again in the late 
summer. The first migration is for purposes 
of spawning, when they deposit their eggs 
among the islands of the western coast. They 
are cleaned as caught, placed in barrels between 
layers of salt, and sent to Trondlijem, Sta¬ 
vanger, and Bergen, from whence they are 
shipped to Germany, Russia, and Sweden. 

Considerable quantities of mackerel are 
found during the summer as far north as the 
Trondhjem fjord. The salmon fisheries, ex¬ 
tending from Bergen to Trondhjem, were for¬ 
merly important, but the best salmon streams 








184 


In Viking Land 


have been leased to Englishmen. Wherever 
the tourist finds a salmon stream he is rea¬ 
sonably certain to find one of John Bull’s sub¬ 
jects. Norway has a large arctic fleet which 
operates from Greenland and Jan Mayen on 
the west to Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya 
on the east, engaged in the capture of whales, 
seals, and walrus sharks. 

The crew of a fishing boat consists of from 
four to six men, each with his share in the 
catch. The skipper, the most experienced sea¬ 
man of the party, steers the boat and superin¬ 
tends the fishing. The life is rough; the food 
is severely plain; the discomforts are multitudi¬ 
nous, and the mortality, due to stormy weather 
and accidents, is something enormous; but the 
hope of great and immediate gain leads the 
Norsemen to forget hardships and take chances. 

The coasting smacks used for the transpor¬ 
tation of the fish are still built on the same 
lines as those used in the old viking days, and 
some of them bear striking resemblance to the 
recovered mediaeval boats now exhibited at 
Christiania and described elsewhere in this 
work. The Nordland boat, one of the best 
modern types, is from thirty to forty feet in 
length and from seven to ten feet in beam. It 




HAMMER FEST. 

















Forests, Fisheries, and Commerce 185 


is entirely open except for five or six feet of 
arched roof at one end which serves the pur¬ 
pose of a cabin. It draws little water, is ex¬ 
tremely graceful, and its great safety consists 
in its lightness. 

In the matter of the handicraft industries 
carried on in the homes, Norway has long taken 
high rank. As early as the ninth century her 
artisans were skilled in the manufacture of 
arms, farming implements, and boats, and her 
women in cloth-weaving and embroidery. Dur¬ 
ing recent times the ease and cheapness with 
which foreign products could be obtained 
caused a marked decline in home industries; 
but at the present moment a vigorous effort is 
being made to rehabilitate the domestic indus¬ 
tries of Gamle Norge. A national domestic in¬ 
dustry association, organized in 1891, has de¬ 
veloped considerable interest and skill in the 
manufacture of hand-carved articles, sheath- 
knives, skis, sledges, and woven and embroid¬ 
ered woollen and linen goods after the old Nor¬ 
wegian patterns. 

The manufacture of lumber and wooden ware 
is one of the leading industrial pursuits. With 
the exception of the two most northern coun¬ 
ties, practically every section of the country is 




186 


In Viking Land 


represented by saw-mills and planing-mills. 
Ship-building in recent times has attained con¬ 
siderable importance, and the manufacture of 
paper of the chemical wood-pulp variety has 
become one of the leading industries. There 
are a few cloth, rope, and jersey mills at Ber¬ 
gen and Christiania, but the textile industries 
of Norway are relatively unimportant. On the 
other hand, leather, India rubber, glass, metal 
and chemical industries have become important 
in late years. 

Norway is not rich in mineral products. The 
combined mining industries do not yield more 
than two million dollars a year and they fur¬ 
nish employment to less than four thousand 
men. The Kongsberg silver mines have been 
operated for more than three hundred years, 
but the recent fall in the price of silver has 
reduced the output. The copper mines at Roros 
have been operated for two hundred and fifty 
years, and there are less important copper 
mines in Nordland, Telemarken, and the ITar- 
danger. There are mines of iron ore at Aren- 
dal and elsewhere, but the rise in the cost of 
charcoal, due to the scarcity of wood, has 
greatly crippled the iron industry. There are 
important soapstone quarries in the Gudbrans- 



Forests, Fisheries, and Commerce 187 


dal and the Trondhjem basin; green coloured 
slate in the Valders and at Vossevangen; and 
granite, syenite, and porphyry in many parts 
of the country. 

Measured by population and national wealth, 
the commerce of Norway is relatively impor¬ 
tant, due in a large measure to her enormous 
merchant marine and the efficiency of her hardy 
seamen. Relatively to the population of the 
country, Norway has the largest merchant fleet 
in the world, and in the matter of steamships 
and sailing vessels she is surpassed by only 
three countries — Great Britain, Germany, and 
the United States. Not only is her fleet large 
but her service is efficient. Norwegian seamen 
the world over are esteemed for ability and 
honesty, inspiring all commercial nations with 
confidence that goods carried in Norse bottoms 
will be carefully and conscientiously treated; 
and her seamen are everywhere sought to man 
foreign vessels. 

The imports of Norway are still much in ex¬ 
cess of the exports. Among imported articles 
of consumption, food and drink are of the 
greatest importance. Cereals represent about 
half the value of the food and drink articles 
imported. Of the cereal import, forty-nine per 






188 


In Viking Land 


a 


cent, is for rye, twenty-three per cent, for bar¬ 
ley, two per cent, for wheat, eight per cent, for 
wheat flour, and seven per cent, for rye flour. 
Groceries come second in the food import ac¬ 
count, three-fourths of which are represented 
by coffee and sugar. There has been marked 
increase in the consumption of sugar since 
the reduction in the duty, and a commend¬ 
able decrease in the consumption of tobacco. 
Textile goods — woollen and cotton goods and 
yarn — occupy the third place in the import 
of articles of consumption, and household 
goods and furniture follow. Among imports 
for production may be mentioned coal, hides 
and skins, raw materials for textile industries, 
petroleum, steam-engines, locomotives, and 
metal goods. 

Timber and fishery products, as elsewhere 
noted, are the most important articles of ex¬ 
port, representing sixty-five per cent, of the 
export trade. In recent years much of the 
lumber exported has been as dressed deal and 
boards, and there has been enormous increase 
in the sale of wood-pulp products. Products 
from agriculture and cattle-raising have also 
advanced rapidly, due to the large export trade 
in butter, margarine, and condensed milk. 






A FJORD FLOUR MILL. 







Forests, Fisheries, and Commerce 189 


Among other important items of export may 
be named packing-paper, ships, dressed stone, 
metals and ores, and textile manufactures. 

Great Britain and Germany get the lion’s 
share of Norway’s commerce. Sweden, Russia, 
the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium follow. 
The United States does not have important 
trade relations directly with Norway, although 
there has been marked increase in the importa¬ 
tion of wheat and flour during recent years. 
The three most important commercial cities — 
Christiania, Bergen, and Trondhjem — have 
sixty-two per cent, of the foreign commerce of 
the country. Stavanger, Christiansund, Fred- 
rikstad, Drammen, Aalesund, Porsgrund, and 
Skien get the balance. Bergen has the largest 
merchant fleet. A fourth of the trade of Nor¬ 
wegian ships is with Great Britain, and some¬ 
thing more than a fifth with the Americas. A 
trifle more than five per cent, of the population 
make their living by trade. 



CHAPTER XIII 


FJORDS OF THE WEST COAST 


Character of Norwegian fjords and their branches — Their 
individuality — An American traveller’s description — The 
Hardanger fjord and Odde — Native costumes — Waterfalls 
of the Hardanger — The Sogne and the Naero fjords — The 
Nord fjord and its near-by glacial lakes — The Geiranger 
fjord and the “ Seven Sisters ” — Hellesylt and the Norangs- 
dal — Marok — Molde and the Romsdal — The fjords north 
of the Trondhjem basin. 


Ten or a dozen great arms of the sea, from 
fifty to one hundred miles in length and from 
a few yards to several miles in width, penetrate 
into the heart of the Scandinavian peninsula. 
These deep drowned valleys, with sheer preci¬ 
pices often more than two thousand feet high, 
are the fjords of Norway, more numerous and 
picturesque in this country than in any other 
part of the world. Branch fjords strike out 
right and left from the main ones, much as the 
fingers radiate from the hand. The fjords are 
of extraordinary depth, and they are generally 
deepest when farthest from the sea. Steep 
mountain walls rise from either side of their 


190 



NATIONAL COSTUME ANI) INDUSTRY 






Fjords of the West Coast 


191 


banks; the lower edges are fringed with pine, 
birch, and alder; the summits are often covered 
with perpetual snow, and the towering moun¬ 
tains in the foreground are reflected sharp and 
clear in the fjord’s depths. Waterfalls burst 
from the ice-fields above and beyond the cliffs; 
and, seen from the fjords below, they look like 
bands of silver. When the clouds hang low, 
and the perpendicular cliffs are only partially 
disclosed, the waterfalls seem to drop from the 
sky. 

These deep water ravines have marked indi¬ 
viduality, in spite of their common causal ori¬ 
gin— the lateral pressure of great masses of 
inland ice during the glacial periods. The bot¬ 
toms of the fjords are U-shaped, the walls be¬ 
low the water line converging, although they 
often have depths from 2,500 to 4,000 feet. 
There is usually a small fertile valley watered 
by a glacial stream at the head of the fjord; 
and, on its well-nigh perpendicular sides, are 
many diminutive farmsteads placed like eagle’s 
nests on its cliffs and in its crevices. 

Since the discovery of the fjords of Norway 
by the tourist agencies, they have been an¬ 
nually visited by thousands of American and 
European travellers, but it is keenly to be re- 




192 


In Viking Land 


gretted that these vulgar tourists, as Mr. Bus¬ 
kin once characterized them, have been per¬ 
mitted to deface these splendid mountain walls 
with the paint-pot. The greedy advertiser has 
not yet invaded these haunts; but the silly 
tourists have left behind the names of their 
yachts and steamers and the dates of their 
visits in bold and ugly inscriptions, which are 
veritable eye-sores. It is clearly to be hoped 
that the Norwegian government, or some other 
properly constituted authority, will put a stop 
to this silly and vulgar practice. 

From Bayard Taylor down to the poetaster 
of the past season the rhapsodists have painted 
so often and so fully the beauty of the fjords 
that one who attempts to describe them anew 
finds his sketch necessarily repetitious. The 
pen-picture by Miss Hervey, an American trav¬ 
eller, does not seem to the present writer over¬ 
done : ‘ ‘ Grand old hills rise • on either side of 
the opaline fjord, their tops capped with fields 
of eternal snow, while at their feet nestle little 
hamlets where red-tiled roofs stand out sharply 
against a background of sombre firs. Mountain 
streams galore; some like beams of sunlight 
sparkle down toward the glittering fjord; some 
like Javelled clouds, seem only an extension of 





Fjords of the West Coast 


193 


the mighty glaciers far up in the sky; and 
some, like mad rivers jumping and roaring, 
plunge down steep, serrated precipices, their 
devious paths being marked by lines of vivid 
verdure.’ ’ 

The Hardanger fjord is the most southernly 
and the finest of the west coast fjords. It is 
approached by the steamer yachts from Ber¬ 
gen through the Bjorne fjord, thence in and 
out winding bays and round high promontories, 
and past numerous islands to the Mauranger 
fjord, with its wealth of peaks, snow-fields, 
glaciers and waterfalls. The steamer yacht 
seems to steer straight for the towering hills, 
when lo, without an apparent change of course, 
you enter the Sor fjord, the southern and most 
beautiful arm of the inner Hardanger. The 
‘ ‘ wondrous beautiful Hardanger ” — ‘ ‘ det 
underdejlige Hardanger ” — as Wergeland de¬ 
scribed it, while less large than the Sogne and 
some of the more northernly fjords, is un¬ 
doubtedly the most lovely of them all. Its 
foaming fosses, glistening glaciers, and ice¬ 
fields, verdant farmsteads, and picturesquely 
attired natives make a picture that is not soon 
forgotten. 

At the head of the fjord is the quaint village 




194 


In Viking Land 


of Odde, with its square log houses of primitive 
form with weather boards on the outside and 
roofs of birch bark and turf, upon which 
masses of wild flowers and shrubs find root and 
flourish. Some of the houses are painted red, 
white and yellow, in accordance with the taste 
of the owner, thus adding colour to an already 
highly coloured landscape. One sees more 
peasant costumes in the Hardanger than else¬ 
where in the country. The dress of the Har¬ 
danger women is likewise radiant with colour. 
The young women wear bright red or green 
bodices, very much cut away behind at the 
arms, leaving only a narrow strip of material 
between the shoulders; the breast-plate of the 
bodice is heavily beaded; the sleeves are of 
white linen or cotton; the skirt is of plain blue 
or black, bordered with bright velvet; and a 
belt of beads, with a clasp of old silver filigree 
work, is worn at the waist. The hair of the 
girls is worn down the back in two long braids, 
but the matrons wear winged head-dresses of 
cambric rolled over a wooden frame and fas¬ 
tened closely about the head. It flares broadly 
at the sides and hangs down the back in a long 
point. 

Some of the finest waterfalls in Norway are 




Fjords of the West Coast 


195 


in the vicinity of Odde. Up the ravine which 
is traversed by the Telemarken road is the 
Lotefos and the Skarsfos which unite to form 
the Espelandsfos, probably the most beautiful 
mountain waterfall in the world; and in the 
valley of Skjsegge is the superb Skaejaeggedals- 
fos, a waterfall five hundred and fifty feet high. 
Near the Eid fjord, another finger of the Har- 
danger, is the roaring Voringsfos, which 
plunges in a single leap five hundred and 
twenty feet into a narrow basin enclosed cn 
three sides by perpendicular walls. Besides 
the single leap, there is a series of cascades, 
which makes the sum total fall 2,225 feet. But 
its beauty lies quite as much in the dense col¬ 
umn of its spray as in its height. The Folge- 
fond ice-field, with its numerous glacier-off¬ 
shoots, also borders the Hardanger. Besides 
the Sor and Eid fingers of the Hardanger, the 
two largest, there are three small fingers, and 
upon one of these — the Graven fjord — is situ¬ 
ated the unassuming but busy little town of 
Eide, which, like Odde, has a background of 
superb scenery. 

The Sogne fjord is the largest in the world. 
Its length is one hundred and thirty-six miles 
and its depth at places more than four thou- 





196 


In Viking Land 


sand feet. It has more than a dozen branches; 
but, to except the Naero, they do not compare 
in scenic interest with the fingers of some of 
the smaller fjords. At its entrance the Sogne 
is wide and without character, but the channel 
gradually narrows and the scenery grows 
wilder. The rugged mountains enclosing it 
are almost entirely destitute of vegetation, due 
in part to the fact that the cliffs are composed 
of crumbling rocks which are constantly loosen¬ 
ing. This prevents vegetation from getting a 
start. There are a few farmsteads on the nar¬ 
row strips of the barren shores, but they are 
protected by overhanging rocks. A few stunted 
and scraggy firs bury their gnarled roots deep 
into the fissures of the rent mountains, but for 
the most part the Sogne is one grand sterile 
wilderness. Even the scanty population of 
this somber fjord have worn faces and haggard 
looks. Yet it was from the Sogne that most of 
the Norsemen came during the viking age, and 
the Sogne during the period covered by the 
sagas — 800 to 1200 a. d. — was the seat of 
the most powerful Norse families. 

If the Sogne seems darkened by nature’s 
frown, surely the Naero, one of her branches, 
has been blessed with her smile; for the Naero 




Fjords of the West Coast 


197 


is a veritable gem. It is wild and desolate and 
no farmsteads fringe its shores, for the very 
good reason that its walls, for thousands of 
feet above and below the water-line, are verti¬ 
cal. The bold outlines of the cliffs as they cast 
their shadows on the unruffled surface of the 
Naero, the foaming fosses that tumble down 
from the tiers of empurpled mountains, and the 
wonderful shadows that bathe the cliffs in pur¬ 
ple, gray, and brown combine to make this little 
fjord one of abiding interest. At Styve the 
channel of the Naero contracts to a defile two 
hundred yards broad. From this point to 
Gudvangen it is completely frozen over in win¬ 
ter and serves as a highway for sledge traffic. 
The Naero is overlooked by the massive peaks 
of Steganasse which are snow-clad throughout 
the year; and at its head is the wildest moun¬ 
tain valley in Norway — the Nserodal. 

The Nord fjord, to the north of the Sogne, 
is less than half its length, but it has as many 
branches; and to except the Naero, the scenery 
is grander and more picturesque. The entrance 
is guarded by a maze of islets; there are vast 
ranges of snow-capped mountain^ in the back¬ 
ground, and in the foreground are wooded hills 
dotted with cultivated fields. The farmsteads 




198 


In Viking Land 


in the Nord fjord have an air of prosperity that 
recalls the Hardanger; and the waters of the 
fjord reflect the elusive tints of the farms and 
foliage — glittering blues where the waters are 
deep and translucent, yellows and greens where 
they are shallow. Costumes, like the land¬ 
scapes, are varied in colour and individual in 
form. The women wear close-fitting red or 
green bodices; and the men wear knee-breeches, 
white stockings, red coats with high collars, and 
tall stiff felt hats. 

There are numberless small glacial lakes in 
the hollow of the hills back of the fjord, three 
of the most beautiful being Stryns vand, Loen 
vand, and Olden vand. Loen vand is dominated 
by majestic mountains which rise all about its 
shores, and it is fed by the Kjendalsbrse, a gla¬ 
cier that connects with the Jostedalsbrae, the 
largest glacier in Europe, with an ice-field cov¬ 
ering three hundred and fifty square miles. 
The Stryndal and the Videdal radiate from 
Visnaes and the Loendal from Loen. The 
Loendal, with its wealth of shrubs, trees, and 
green meadows, is dominated by the lofty 
Skaala mountain, 6,356 feet above sea-level; 
and it contains numerous waterfalls, which, 
seen at a distance above a screen of firs, ap- 






THE SEVEN SISTERS 




Fjords of the West Coast 


199 


pear like folds of linen on a bleaching ground. 

In the matter of picturesque cliffs and 
numerous waterfalls the Nord fjord is sur¬ 
passed by the Geiranger. A. Heaton Cooper, 
an English artist, says of it: “ We have here 
a blending of the Alpine splendour of Nordland 
with the wildness of Jotunlieim, the beauty of 
Hardanger and the grandeur of the Sogne. 
Whether we approach this fjord from the land 
side and drive down the splendidly engineered 
road in zigzag windings to the village of Marok, 
or sail in from the main Stor fjord, we obtain 
an equally vivid impression of Geiranger’s 
beauty and grandeur. ” 

The Geiranger fjord is about eleven miles 
long and from two hundred to four hundred 
yards wide. Its perpendicular walls rise to 
heights ranging from three thousand to five 
thousand feet. Over these steep cliffs plunge 
many waterfalls, and when the tops are covered 
with clouds they seem to fall direct from the 
sky. The series of waterfalls known as the 
“ Seven Sisters ” is probably the most beauti¬ 
ful in the fjord. Seven silken streaks of white 
fall from the overhanging cliffs to the fjord 
below. Just beyond the “ Seven Sisters 99 is 
the Gausdalsfos which, half way down its fall, 




200 


In Viking Land 


is broken in two, thus forming a double leap 
into the fjord; and opposite are some curious 
overhanging cliffs whose profiles suggest hu¬ 
man faces. Brude Slur, or bridal veil, near 
the “ Seven Sisters,” “ descends as a veil from 
the sky line of the high cliff and spreads its 
streamers over the face of the mountain wall.” 

Perched on a precipitous cliff on the opposite 
side of the fjord is the Skaggeflaa farmstead 
which is reached by a winding trail that is al¬ 
most vertical. One point in the trail is blocked 
by an overhanging rock and has to be scaled 
by a ladder. The story goes that some years 
ago the occupant of this eagle-nest farmstead, 
having imbibed the anti-taxation sentiments of 
Thoreau, refused to pay his share of the local 
levy. He made it convenient to appear at the 
fjord’s edge at times when the tax-gatherer 
was not within easy distance. But one day 
when the old man was returning to his eyrie, 
he discovered that he was being pursued by the 
deputy sheriff; and, increasing his steps, he 
quickly scaled the rock and pulled the ladder 
after him, leaving the irate representative of 
the law to ponder over the pros and cons of 
taxation. 

Hellesylt is a beautiful village on the Gei- 





THE NORANGSDAL, 














Fjords of the West Coast 201 


ranger fjord at the foot of a mountain, steep 
and rugged, and completely surrounded by 
water. There is no apparent outlet; and, but 
for knowledge to the contrary, one might well 
suppose the village to be located on a mountain 
lake. There are numerous tiny farms on the 
steep mountain sides, but the farmers have to 
go barefooted or wear soft soled-shoes to ac¬ 
commodate their feet to the inequalities of the 
soil; and children and animals have to be 
tethered to the trees and rocks to prevent them 
from falling over. When death comes during 
the winter months the bodies have to be kept 
until spring. The Norangsdal, which connects 
Hellesylt with Oie, on the Norangs fjord, is 
probably the wildest and grandest small moun¬ 
tain valley in Norway. It contains a half dozen 
small glacial lakes, is fringed with mountain 
saeters, and the bottom of the valley is covered 
with avalanche snow throughout the summer. 
Oie, at the western terminus of the Norangsdal, 
is dominated by the Slogen and a number of 
other robust mountain peaks. 

Marok is at the head of the Geiranger fjord 
and the western terminus of one of the cross¬ 
country mountain routes through the Gud- 
bransdal and Aalsad over the Grotlid road, 






202 


In Viking Land 


which is one of the finest bits of highway engi¬ 
neering in Europe. The road descends in zig¬ 
zag fashion over wild torrents and splendid 
waterfalls and cascades, and makes a drop of 
more than three thousand feet in ten miles. 
The environs of Marok, and the little valleys 
which lead into the Geiranger fjord, are highly 
' cultivated, in spite of the paucity of land avail¬ 
able for agricultural purposes. Little patches 
of ground between the rocks are mown with 
small scythes used with one hand. Cattle 
breeding is also an important industry in the 
Geiranger. In the Vesteraasdal, a valley 
branching to the north from the Geiranger 
basin, is the magnificent waterfall, the Stors- 
saeterfos. 

The Molde fjord to the north is larger but 
less picturesque than the Geiranger or the 
Nord. At its entrance is the pleasantly situ¬ 
ated town of Molde with its superb background 
of forest-clad hills and its foreground of 
cherry, horse-chestnut, lime, and ash trees, and 
its wealth of roses, honeysuckles, and other 
cultivated plants. In spite of the fact that 
Molde is in the latitude of the northern limits 
of the frozen tundra plains of the continent of 
North America, its climate is mild and its vege- 












The Trondhjem Fjord 





\ 











Fjords of the West Coast 


203 


tation surprisingly luxuriant. The church at 
Molde contains Axel Ender’s well-known paint¬ 
ing representing the women at the sepulchre of 
Christ. The beautiful Romsdal terminates at 
Veblungsnaes on the Romsdals fjord, one of the 
branches of the Molde. 

Beyond Molde are the Trondhjem, Vest, 
Trold, Porsanger, and Veranger fjords. Of 
the Vest fjord Bjornson writes: “ When you 

at last enter the Vest fjord, with the lofty 

% 

mountains of Lofoten islands rising out of the 
sea on one side and the mighty mountain 
ranges of the mainland on the other, you feel 
as if you were sailing right into the grandest 
fairy tales of the people, or into the myths 
about the eternal fight between the Ases and 
the Jotuns, the Vanirs and the Gnomes, es¬ 
pecially when the glow of the midnight sun 
suffuses with infinite splendour those parts of 
the mountains upon which it rests, and leaves 
the other parts in an inexpressible chill. ? ? The 
Trold fjord is enclosed by perpendicular rocks 
which again enclose snow-filled gorges; and the 
snowy Troldtinder, a group of peaks covered 
with eternal snow, overlooks the fjord. On 
one side of the Troldtinder is the Troldvand, 




204 


In Viking Land 


a mountain lake eight hundred feet above sea- 
level and frozen over throughout the year. The 
mountains rise vertically from the lake’s banks 
to the height of 3,200 feet. 





LOEN ON THE NORI) FJORD. 



MOLDK 















THE FENNELOFT AT VOSSEVANGEN. 















































CHAPTER XIV 


FJELDS AND MOUNTAIN VALLEYS 


The southern plateau and its mountains and mountain val¬ 
leys — The Saetersdal — Telemarken and its picturesque 
costumes — Bergen to Vossevangen — The Finneloft— 
Over Stalheim — The Naerodal — Laerdalsoren — The Valders 
route — Husum and the old timber church at Borgund — 
The descent from Nystuen to Skogstad — Fagernaes and 
Lake Spirillen — The mountain peaks and waterfalls of the 
Romsdal — The Gudbransdal. 


In a preceding chapter on the geography of 
Scandinavia attention was called to the fact 
that Norway was a country of mountains and 
plateaus, with short abrupt slopes to the fjords 
on the west, and long gradual slopes to the 
woodlands and farmlands on the east. The 
Doverfjeld and the Langfjeld form the basis of 
the great plateaus of central and southern Nor¬ 
way. Many ranges, however, radiate from the 
Langfjeld. The summits of the plateaus and 
ridges are covered with snow throughout the 
year; but between the transverse ridges are 
narrow valleys that are both fertile and pic¬ 
turesque. Telemarken, Numedal, Hallingdal, 

205 


206 


In Viking Land 


the Valders, and Gndbransdal are on the east¬ 
ern slope of the primary highland, the Roms- 
dal on the west, and Ssetersdal on the south. 
There are small strips of fertile land at the 
bottoms of the valleys, and occasional patches 
on the sides of the mountains where the soil 
has settled in the ledges. These mountain val¬ 
leys preserve the customs, dress, and habits of 
the Norse people of by-gone generations. 

The most southernly of the mountain valleys 
of Norway is the Ssetersdal, drained by the 
Otteraa river. It extends from Bredvik to 
Christiansand, a distance of one hundred and 
forty-three miles. Its scenery is not only beau¬ 
tiful, but its inhabitants, tall and strongly built 
people, continue to wear the picturesque cos¬ 
tume of Garnle Norge. The curious dress of 
the Ssetersdal women, which comes close up 
under the arm pits, had its origin in a monkish 
fanaticism of the middle ages, which did not 
permit the female to display her form. There 
is a narrow gauge railway up the valley as far 
as the Bvglands fjord — really a mountain lake 
rather than a fjord — and from thence to 
Langeid the tourist is transported for a dis¬ 
tance of twenty-two miles by a lake steamer. 
The balance of the distance must be covered 





Fjelds and Mountain Valleys 207 


with a carriole or a stolkjserre. From Flate- 
land in the upper Saetersdal the traveller can 
cross the mountain pass to Dalen and join the 
Telemarken route from Skien to Odde, or take 
the wild but fatiguing mountain road over the 
snow-fields from Bredvik to the Suldalsvand. 

The Telemarken route from Skien to the 
Hardanger fjord, over the Haukelifjeld, shares 
with the Valders the primacy in the matter of 
the scenic interest among the cross-country 
mountain routes of Norway. The Skien- 
Nordsjo-Bandak canal, in the valley, is one of 
many evidences of the ingenuity and skill of 
Norwegian engineers. By the aid of seventy 
locks there is a continuous waterway from the 
sea at Skien to the heart of the mountains at 
Dalen. Frequent waterfalls have made it nec¬ 
essary to hew the canal from solid rocks. At 
the Vrangfos, where the cascade is seventy- 
five feet high, six locks were required to over¬ 
come the grade. The road over the Haukeli¬ 
fjeld, at an elevation of 3,085 feet, to Rodal, 
and thence across the Seljestad ravine and 
down to Odde, is another evidence of the tri¬ 
umph of engineering science in Norway. 

In Telemarken, as in the Hardanger, the peo¬ 
ple continue to wear the picturesque national 




208 


In Viking Land 


dress. The men wear a short military-cut 
jacket ornamented with silver lace and buttons, 
dark-coloured breeches seamed with red, red 
caps, and woollen stockings, the tops of which 
are brilliantly embroidered. The broad shoul¬ 
ders and massive frames of the Telemarken 
women suggest their kinship with the Amazons 
of olden times. They wear dark skirts, the 
hems gaily trimmed with red or yellow worsted 
lace, and the skirts reach only to the knees, dis¬ 
playing to full advantage their ponderous 
pedal extremities; their shoes have pointed and 
turned up toes, and the head-dress is a coloured 
handkerchief, the ends of which hang down the 
back. Both men and women wear large 
brooches and silver shoe-buckles. 

The route from Bergen to Christiania, 
through the Valders or the Hallingdal, com¬ 
bines rail, steamer, and carriage travel, and 
offers a larger combination of scenic and hu¬ 
man interest than any of the other trans-Scan¬ 
dinavian routes. The sixty-seven miles between 
Bergen and Vossevangen is covered by the new 
railway which is eventually to connect the cap¬ 
ital with the metropolis of the west coast. At 
many points the road is cut from the solid 




Fjelds and Mountain Valleys 209 


rock, and one-tenth of the entire distance is 
occupied with tunnels. 

In any country but Norway Vossevangen 
would be considered a beautiful town; but here, 
where nature has been so lavish in her favours, 
it takes an unusual combination of natural 
forms and forces to elicit the passing interest 
of the traveller. An indifferent mountain lake, 
an agreeable climate, some fertile farms, one 
of the best hostelries in Norway — Fleischer’s 
Hotel — and an exceptionally well-preserved 
timber farmhouse dating from the thirteenth 
century constitute the chief assets of Voss. 
The timber house, the Finneloft, a two-storied 
building in the shape of a bloch-house, is one 
of the most interesting specimens of mediaeval 
domestic architecture in Norway. There is no 
inside staircase; but as in all ancient Norse 
farmhouses, the approach to the upper part is 
from without. 

The highway from Vossevangen to Gudvan- 
gen is along the Voss river which rushes 
through deep clefts in the rocks and forms 
many thundering cascades. Beyond Tvinde 
the gorge is so narrow and its walls so vertical 
that the road is hewn from the solid rocks, 
while beneath the highway roars the savage 




210 


In Viking Land 


river. There is an ascent of more than a thou¬ 
sand feet in the drive from Voss to the summit 
at Stalheim, which is 1,120 feet above the level 
of the sea. The Stallieims-Klev is a huge rock 
eight hundred feet high which forms the head 
of the picturesque Naerodal. The view from 
Stalheim is probably the finest in Norway; 
and, if its hotel were as comfortable and as well 
managed as most of the other mountain inns, 
it would be an ideal spot for a summer’s out¬ 
ing. To the right of Stalheim is the Kaldafjeld 
(4,265 feet), a huge mass of light gray syenite 
with its summit snow-capped; to the left the 
Jordalsnut (3,620 feet), a conical peak barren 
of verdure with its steep sides deeply furrowed 
by the action of avalanches; in the background 
three splendid waterfalls — the Stalheimsfos, 
the Sivlefos, and the Kilefos; and in the deep 
canon below the sombre but superb Naerodal. 

In descending from Stalheim to Gudvangen 
the road winds down the precipitous rock in 
corkscrew fashion, backwards and forwards 
sixteen times, the last bend at the foot being 
almost directly under the first at the summit. 
Here begins the tiny valley that leads into the 
Naero fjord. The Naerodal is a truly wonderful 
gorge, with its sides more than five thousand 




ST AIJI KIM. 







Fjelds and Mountain Valleys 211 


feet high, the summits covered with eternal 
snows, and the walls bleached and seared by 
time and overhung by a hundred delicate water¬ 
falls. The sublimity of the Nserodal is simply 
overpowering. Mrs. Olivia M. Stone, an Eng¬ 
lish woman, has well expressed the mental re¬ 
actions of the writer. “ One has a longing de¬ 
sire to get above those awful cliffs — to go 
anywhere, do anything, only to escape from the 
oppression that seems to be crushing down 
one’s mental and physical powers. It would 
be possible to be goaded to madness by these 
stern, silent, unscalable walls, whose only 
answer to a wild cry for freedom, wrung from 
despairing lips, would be the pitiless, mock¬ 
ing echo.” 

The Nserodal is precisely like the fjords in 
structure, and it may have been filled with 
water at one time. It is seven miles long and 
a few hundred yards wide and is dotted with 
farmsteads of the pigmy sort. At its fjord-end 
is Grudvangen, so shut in by huge mountains 
that it gets the direct rays of the sun for only 
a third of the year. During the winter the sun 
lights up the tops of the mountains at midday, 
but its rays do not strike directly the bottom 
of the valley. The over-water journey between 




212 


In Viking Land 


Gudvangen and Laerdalsoren is made by means 
of small fjord steamers. 

Laerdalsoren, the western terminus of the 
route from Christiania through the Valders, 
lies at the extreme end of a branch of the 
Sogne fjord. It is so entirely enclosed by bare 
rocky mountains that the direct rays of the sun 
do not reach the village more than five out of 
the twelve months of the year. It has one long 
winding street of timber houses, with outside 
wooden staircases, and roofs of birch bark and 
turf which are luxuriant with vegetation. 

It is a drive of one hundred and fifty miles 
from Laerdalsoren to Sorum over the Fillefjeld. 
Leaving Laerdal the highway follows a broad 
flat valley, occupied by impoverished farm¬ 
steads, as far as Blaaflaten. Here it begins to 
narrow; and at Husum, it enters a wild ravine, 
where the road is entirely hewn from the cliffs, 
at the base of which the Laera river rushes 
through a narrow cascaded channel. 

Beyond Husum is the Borgund church, dat¬ 
ing from the twelfth century and one of the 
choice national monuments of Norway. It is 
unexpectedly small, entirely built of wood, and 
the roof is constructed in six tiers, each finished 
off with a cross or a rudely carved dragon’s 





THE SIVLEFOS IN THE N.ERODAL. 

















Fjelds and Mountain Valleys 213 


head. The building is surrounded on the out¬ 
side by a roofed veranda which extends three 
feet beyond the actual walls of the church, thus 
increasing its apparent size. The complete 
length of the church, from the west door to the 
eastern extremity of the chancel, is only thirty- 
nine feet. The nave is twenty-three feet long 
and nearly twenty feet wide. It is separated 
from the side aisles by twelve large pillars, 
each formed from a single pine tree. The body 
of the church inside the pillars measures about 
eleven by sixteen feet, thus furnishing space 
for not more than forty worshippers at any 
one time. As glass was unknown in Norway 
in the twelfth century, the light is admitted by 
small openings in the walls, but the church is 
very dark when the doors are closed. A little 
carving, of the Celtic tracery sort, is found 
about the doors; also some runic inscriptions, 
which give a clue to the date of its construc¬ 
tion. The belfry, a huge wedge-shaped struc¬ 
ture of more recent date, stands near the 
church. 

There is a relatively broad intervale at Bor- 
gund; but beyond Ekrg the valley narrows and 
the scenery becomes grander, and higher up in 
the mountains habitations, to except a few scat- 



214 


In Viking Land 


tered saeters, cease to exist. Maristuen, founded 
as an ecclesiastical hospice in the year 1300, 
is on a bare and bleak moorland, almost desti¬ 
tute of trees and other vegetation, at an eleva¬ 
tion of 2,635 feet; and the highest elevation on 
the Valders route is reached at Nystuen, 3,295 
feet above the level of the sea. Nystuen is on 
the banks of a glacial lake and surrounded by 
extensive snow-fields. This is a favourite pas¬ 
ture region for the Lapps; and, during the 
short summer, several thousand reindeer are 
pastured in this vicinity. 

The descent from Nystuen to Skogstad 
amounts to almost a plunge, although the pub¬ 
lic highway has been admirably adapted to the 
freaks of the crazy Baegna river which it fol¬ 
lows. The higher limit of cone-bearing trees 
is reached at Skogstad, and from this point to 
Fagernaes the route leads through magnificent 
pine forests. Fagernaes is charmingly located 
in the heart of dense pine-covered mountains; 
it has lovely green meadows filled with wild 
flowers; there are numerous lakelets whose sur¬ 
faces are covered with pond lilies; it has an 
admirably kept hotel; but the mosquitos of 
Fagernaes simply baffle description. The Val¬ 
ders railway is now completed as far as Fager- 





THE HORGUND CHUKCII 





Fjelds and Mountain Valleys 215 


naes, but most tourists will prefer to continue 
the overland highway as far as Sorum at the 
head of Lake Spirillen. 

Leaving Fagernaes the highway for twelve 
miles follows the shores of the beautiful 
Strande fjord, really a lake formed by the 
widening and deepening of the Baegna river. 
From Freydenlund to Fjeldlieim the road is 
again hewn from the rocky mountainside and 
it affords some magnificent views of the snow- 
fields of Jotunheim, but the valley widens 
again as Sorum is approached. From Sorum 
the tourist goes by steamer through the navi¬ 
gable channel of the Baegna river and Lake 
Spirillen, a beautiful little sheet of water fif¬ 
teen miles long and bordered with prosperous 
little farms and pine-clad mountains. From 
Heen, at the foot of the lake, to Christiania, 
the journey is made by railway. 

The cross-country trip by the Valders can 
be made with comfort in a week, and it gives 
the tourist an excellent idea of the mountain¬ 
ous parts of Norway and the isolated life of 
the people. Many quaint old customs and cos¬ 
tumes persist in the Valders. The dress of the 
men and boys is even more quaint than in other 
parts of the country. They wear short Eton 




216 


In Viking Land 


jackets made of black or dark cloth; trousers 
that come to the arm-pits but scarcely reach to 
the ankles; high vests that button quite to the 
throat, and mufflers that include all the pri¬ 
mary and most of the secondary and tertiary 
colours. 

One who has crossed Norway by the Valders 
route may well agree with Mrs. Olivia M. Stone 
that it is one continuous gallery of pictures: 
“ Sometimes one looks at it smiling, and again 
frowning; sometimes wild, weird and terrible, 
and again one sees a paradise of rest. But in 
none of its phases is there anything to jar — 
everything seems in keeping — no inharmoni¬ 
ous civilization suddenly transports one to 
every-day wear and tear. The illusion that the 
world is jogging — that there is plenty of time 
for everything, that human nature is not so 
bad as people make out, and that everybody is 
not breathless — is kept up from the time one 
sets foot on Norway until one reluctantly bids 
it farewell.” 

North of the Valders is the Romsdal, a much 
shorter but a more beautiful mountain valley. 
It is drained by the Rauma river, which takes 
its rise in the Lesjeskogen lake high up in the 
mountains; and from Stufloten (2,050 feet 





LAKE SPIRILLEN. 



THE ROMSDAL 






Fjelds and Mountain Valleys 217 


above the sea) to Veblungsnaes, where it emp¬ 
ties into the fjord, a distance of thirty-seven 
miles, it makes an abrupt descent between pre¬ 
cipitous mountain walls. In its upper course 
are numerous deep cauldrons which have been 
formed by the erosive action of stones whirled 
round by eddies in the bed of the river. 

The Bomsdal is abundantly punctuated with 
beautiful waterfalls. The Slettafos is in its 
upper course; here the rocks form a deep and 
narrow gorge about fifty feet wide and eight 
hundred feet long. Down this channel, with 
compressed fury, rushes the Bauma with a 
roar that is deafening, suggesting the words 
of Edmund Burke that ‘ ‘ the noise of vast cata¬ 
racts awake a great and awful sensation in the 
mind, though we can observe no nicety or arti¬ 
fice in those sorts of music.’’ Further down 
the valley, near Ormeim, is the Vsermofos, an¬ 
other fine waterfall, formed by a tributary 
river that sweeps diagonally down cliffs more 
than a thousand feet high to join the Bauma. 

The most beautiful part of the Romsdal, 
however, is the ten miles from Horgheim to 
Veblungsnaes. The gorge narrows and the 
river is flanked on both sides by vertical moun¬ 
tain ridges and peaks. On the east side of the 




218 


In Viking Land 


valley rise the picturesque Vengetinder (5,960 
feet); and, dominating the whole valley, the 
huge dome of the Komsdalshorn (5,100 feet). 
These mountains are the steepest in Europe; 
and, although their ascent is possible, it is dan¬ 
gerous. On the west side of the valley rise the 
Troldtinder or witch-pinnacles (6,010 feet); 
and further down the valley, the King, the 
Sisters, the Bishop, and other splendid peaks. 
As it nears the mouth of the fjord, the Boms- 
dal widens a bit to make room for snug little 
farms and forest parks of alder, ash, and birch. 
An experienced English traveller, Mr. Herbert 
Maxwell, says of this valley: “ If the Roms- 
dal has any European rival in stupendous reck¬ 
less grandeur, such is not known to me. Prob¬ 
ably nowhere else, except in the Yosemite Val¬ 
ley or in the gorges of the Indus above Khalsi 
in Ladak, shall you find such opposing preci¬ 
pices of such height so near together.” 

The route from the Romsdal to Christiania 
is continued on the eastern side of the plateau 
through the fertile and prosperous Gudbrans- 
dal. The narrow strips of land along its som¬ 
bre defiles are studiously cultivated; and 
perched on the dizzy mountainsides like eagles’ 




Fjelds and Mountain Valleys 219 


nests are numerous saeters. In the Gudbrands- 
dal, as in Telemarken and the Valders, the 
peasants still cling to the picturesque costumes 
of their ancestors. 




CHAPTER XV 


trondhjem: its saint and its cathedral 


Trondhjem once the residence of the Norse kings — Its loca¬ 
tion — Mediaeval foundation — Olaf the Saint and his early 
career — His reign one of the mile-stones in Norwegian his¬ 
tory — His canonization and the St. Olaf cult — The national 
cathedral — Selection of Trondhjem as the archiepiscopal 
see — Progress of the cathedral during the reign of Haakon 
Haakonsson — Fearful conflagrations — Fate of the cathe¬ 
dral after the reformation — Recent restorations — Other 
notable historic associations in Trondhjem. 


Trondhjem, formerly Nidaros, in latitude 
north 63° 25' 52", is the most northernly city in 
the world. It was the site of the first Christian 
church in Norway and the northern stronghold 
of the faith during the middle ages. Hither 
flocked annually, before the Protestant refor¬ 
mation, thousands of pilgrims from all parts of 
Europe to worship at the shrine of Olaf the 
Saint. Trondhjem was the seat of the great 
national cathedral and the residence of the arch¬ 
bishops; here the Norse kings were crowned, 
and for many years the city was the chief seat 
of the royal residence. 

220 


Trondhjem 


221 


The city to-day ranks third in commercial 
importance and size and has a population of 
40,326 inhabitants. It still has its cathedral 
and the kings of Norway continue to be 
crowned here. But it has ceased to be the cap¬ 
ital of the country, and in the historic changes 
of the last five centuries it has been forced to 
yield its claims of priority to Christiania and 
Bergen. The city is beautifully situated on a 
peninsula formed by the Trondhjem fjord and 
the Nid river. In spite of its northern loca¬ 
tion, its summer climate is like that of Eng¬ 
land and its winters similar to those in Ger¬ 
many. The river is rarely frozen over and the 
fjord never. 

King Olaf Trygvesson founded a city here 
in 996 and erected a royal residence and a 
church which he dedicated to St. Clement. 
During the reigns of Eric and Svend Haakons- 
son (1000-1015) the city was neglected, but it 
prospered greatly during the reign of Olaf the 
Saint (1016-1030), and after his death the St. 
Olaf cult made Trondhjem the largest and rich¬ 
est place in the kingdom and gave rise to the 
erection of the cathedral, fourteen other 
churches, and five monasteries. 

Olaf the Saint is one of the commanding fig- 





222 


In Viking Land 


ures in Norwegian history. The story of his 
life, while told with reasonable fulness by the 
sagas of the Norse kings, has been so clouded 
by the mythological mists which gathered about 
his name after his canonization by the church 
of Rome, that it is not easy to separate the 
realities of his career from the mythological 
and supernatural. If Snorre Sturalsson, the 
historian of the period, is to be relied upon, 
Olaf the Thickset, as he was know before can¬ 
onization, was a supremely human individual 
and he had numerous personal qualities not 
commonly associated with the character of 
saints. 

As described by Snorre, Olaf was of mod¬ 
erate stature, thick-set, but well built; he had 
a comely and prepossessing look; his face was 
broad and honest; he had quantities of beau¬ 
tiful yellow hair, the brightest eye in the world, 
and a complexion as pure as snow and as beau¬ 
tiful as roses. He was the son of Harald 
Gronske, who had ventured to woo the haughty 
Sigrid and was burned to death for his pre¬ 
sumption. His widowed mother married a 
grandson of Harald the Fair-Haired, a man of 
great wealth, prudence, and influence, who 
loved his step-son and brought him up whole- 




Trondhjem 


223 


somely and skilfully. One Kane the Far-Trav¬ 
elled was engaged as the tutor of little Olaf, 
and he filled the lad’s head with exploits and 
adventures in distant countries. 

At the early age of twelve the nascent migra¬ 
tory instinct had so strongly developed in Olaf 
that it was decided to fit him out with a ship 
and let him seek his fortunes on foreign shores 
as a viking. He cruised and fought in many 
seas, plundered the coasts that he visited, and 
amassed a great fortune, as was the custom of 
the vikings. We are told by the scalds that 
he was always victorious, sometimes getting 
out of embarrassing situations with miraculous 
dexterity. He visited the countries of western 
and southern Europe in the capacity of a rob¬ 
ber sea-king until his name became famous in 
the viking and strategic world. England seems 
to have suffered most by his unwelcome visits 
and his name inspired terror among the coast 
inhabitants of the British Isles. After he had 
acquired wealth as a pirate, become experi¬ 
enced as a fighter, and accumulated a vast fund 
of worldly wisdom, he returned to Norway and 
was proclaimed king at Trondhjem. He had 
been baptized as a Christian during his travels 
in foreign lands, but the new religion did not 



224 


In Viking Land 


alter materially his habits of life until he be¬ 
came the head of the nation. Then he took 
vigorous measures to suppress and abolish 
vikingism and heathenism, “ both of which 
objects, and their respective worth and un¬ 
worth, he had known so long and so well.” 

The reign of Olaf the Saint is one of the 
mile-stones in Norwegian history; for he not 
only abolished heathenism, but he gave the 
Norse kingdom a recognized place among the 
nations of Europe which it had not hitherto 
held. He rebuilt the ruined royal palace and 
St. Clement’s church at Trondlijem; promoted 
commerce and afforded protection to trade; 
erected fortresses; reformed the system of 
taxation, and hanged dishonest tax-gatherers. 
He had apparently a clear conception of na¬ 
tional unity, and he set to work with deliberate 
purpose to unite the scattered Norwegian prov¬ 
inces under the cross of Christ. He marched 
from one part of the kingdom to another with 
armed men and “ severely punished those who 
secretly or openly sacrificed to the old gods or 
indulged in any pagan practices. Some were 
outlawed and their property confiscated, others 
were maimed, and a few were hanged or be¬ 
headed.” Thus remarks Carlyle, “ King 




Trondhjem 


225 


Olaf’s struggles in the matter of religion set¬ 
tled the question in Norway. By these rough 
methods of his, whatever we may think of them, 
heathenism had got itself smashed dead, and 
was no more heard of in that country.” 

Olaf died as he had lived — fighting and 
“ doing deadliest execution on his busiest ene¬ 
mies to right and to left.” His body was car¬ 
ried from the battle-field to the hut of a peas¬ 
ant, where it was touched by a blind man and 
he was at once miraculously restored to sight. 
With this legend as a starting-point, others 
were soon forthcoming, and the church of 
Rome was induced to include the dead king in 
its calendar of saints. After his remains had 
been placed in a reliquary on the high altar 
of St. Clement’s church, monks and priests 
who were interested in the religious prosperity 
of Trondhjem contrived to make his shrine a 
place of pilgrimage. All sorts of legends were 
fabricated and it was gradually impressed 
upon an ignorant and superstitious people that 
great benefits were to be derived from a visit 
to the tomb of the saint. It was the resort of 
thousands of pilgrims each year who sought 
physical relief, mental consolation, or spiritual 
aid at the shrine of St. Olaf; but the pilgrim- 



226 


In Viking Land 


ages, so profitable to Trondlijem, were ended 
by the introduction of Protestantism into Nor¬ 
way. 

The cathedral, which was designed as the 
final resting-place of St. Olaf as well as the 
metropolitan church of Norway, was begun 
during the reign of Olaf the Quiet (1066-1093), 
and after its completion the shrine of Olaf was 
transferred hither. The cathedral was built in 
the Romanesque style of architecture in vogue 
during the eleventh century. The material 
used was uncut hard stone, while soapstone was 
used for the base, the corner-stones, the but¬ 
tresses, and the mouldings of doors and win¬ 
dows. The ceiling was of wood with visible 
rafters, and the small windows were placed 
high up in the walls. 

During the early days of Christianity in Nor¬ 
way the church was administered by the bish¬ 
ops of Nidaros (Trondlijem), Selje (Bergen), 
and Oslo (Christiania), under the direction of 
the archbishop of Hamburg and Bremen. The 
growing national sentiment, however, made it 
important that Norway should have her own 
archbishop. Negotiations with this object in 
view were opened with Rome, and in 1151 Pope 
Eugene III consented to the appointment of 




Trondhjem 


227 


V 


an archbishop for Norway. Aside from the 
fact that she possessed the shrine of Olaf the 
Saint, Trondhjem had in 1110 secured from a 
crusader a fragment of the true cross, thus 
adding to her ecclesiastical importance. A 
legate was sent from Rome in 1152 with full 
apostolical power to establish the new archi- 
episcopal see and to settle all matters touching 
the ecclesiastical province of Norway. This 
legate was Nicholas Brekespere, an English¬ 
man, who had worked his way from a humble 
station in life up to the dignity of a cardinal, 
and later he became Pope Adrian IV. 

Trondhjem was selected as the seat of the 
new archiepiscopal see, and the bishop of Sta¬ 
vanger was made archbishop of Norway. The 
country was divided into eleven bishoprics, 
viz., Trondhjem, Bergen, Stavanger, Chris¬ 
tiania (Oslo), Hamar, Skaalholt and Holen in 
Iceland, Greenland, the Shetland islands and 
the Orkneys, and the Hebrides with the Isle of 
Man. Colleges of priests were organized in 
connection with the cathedral school to act with 
and assist the bishops. The right of making 
gifts and offerings to the church was greatly 
extended, and new sources of revenue were 
provided for the cathedral, which, added to 



228 


In Viking Land 


the donations of the pilgrims, gave it a large 
and independent fortune. 

The archbishop made immediate provision 
for the enlargement of the cathedral. The 
western gables and the towers had to be pulled 
down to allow of the erection of a central 
tower; but the main part of the old church was 
retained as the eastern arm of the new cathe¬ 
dral. The transept was constructed in the 
Anglo-Norman round-arch style, with uncov¬ 
ered rafters and slender quadrangular pillars. 
It was built in three stories, the upper two 
containing inside galleries with columns and 
pillars. To this period belongs the still-exist¬ 
ing vestry built on the north side of the 
chancel as a separate chapel. 

The first archbishop, having died in 1157 and 
his successor having clashed with the king on 
questions of revenues, was forced to live in 
exile in England for three years. During his 
sojourn abroad he became acquainted with the 
new style of architecture, the so-called Gothic, 
which had recently been brought from France 
and was employed in the rebuilding of the 
cathedral at Canterbury. When work on the 
cathedral was resumed at Trondhjem the plans 
were in consequence modified. To this period 




Trondhjem 


229 


belongs St. Olaf’s well, tlie waters of which in 
the days of the pilgrimages were said to pos¬ 
sess healing properties. To-day they are 
slightly calcarious. The well is thirty-six feet 
deep; narrow at the top, but widening down¬ 
ward like a bottle, and tapering again at the 
bottom. Below the ground it is built of un¬ 
dressed stone. 

During the reign of Haakon Haakonsson 
great progress was made in the additions to 
the cathedral. The side aisles were distin¬ 
guished by sharply projecting buttresses sup¬ 
porting the vault by arches; besides the spires 
and turreted pillars at the corners, five towers 
were added, one of which was a high central 
tower. The cathedral when finished had three 
hundred and sixteen windows, three thousand, 
three hundred and sixty pillars, and forty 
statues, exclusive of sculptured heads and 
faces. The twenty-five chapels were also 
beautifully carved and adorned. The first 
great ceremony in the completed cathedral was 
the coronation of King Haakon the Longlegs 
the 10th of August in the year 1299. 

Twenty-nine years later the cathedral was 
burned. The archbishop wrote: “ Not only 
the woodwork inside and outside was burnt 




230 


In Viking Land 


down, but also the stone posts, bells and many 
precious articles, as well as pillars and arches 
above and below, so that we may expect even 
greater damage than has actually happened if 
we do not hasten to its repair.’’ The work of 
restoration was begun, but the plague, known 
as the “ Black Death,” visited Norway; a 
great part of the population, including the 
clergy, was swept away, and a long time 
elapsed before the work of restoration was 
begun. In 1371 the archbishop obtained a 
papal brief of indulgence for the rebuilding of 
the cathedral; but it was struck by lightning 
in 1432 and burned a second time. During the 
century that followed the work of restoration 
was frequently resumed and interrupted. 

Trondhjem was visited by a fearful confla¬ 
gration in 1531 and the cathedral suffered 
with the town. Only the chancels were left 
and these were severely damaged. The arch¬ 
bishop made strenuous efforts to obtain money 
to rebuild the church, but the ominous signs of 
the approaching reformatory movement weak¬ 
ened the authority of the clergy. When the 
new faith was made the state religion of Nor¬ 
way the archbishop fled the country and the 




Trondhjem 


231 


properties belonging to the cathedral, as well 
as those devoted to the income of the arch¬ 
bishop, were immediately seized upon by the 
Danish king, while the monasteries were 
largely given to the noblemen of the Danish 
court. The cathedral was plundered of its 
treasures, including the shrine of Olaf the 
Saint, which yielded 3,250 ounces of silver. 

The cathedral having lost its landed estates 
and other sources of revenue, the Protestant 
bishops were without funds with which to re¬ 
build the church. Trondhjem, however, in 
1552 decided to pull down several churches and 
chapels and to use the materials for the resto¬ 
ration of the cathedral. But the work was in¬ 
terrupted by the invasion of the Swedes in 
1564. They carried St. Olaf’s shrine and his 
silver coffin. Very little was done for three- 
quarters of a century. In 1633 a private citi¬ 
zen of Trondhjem had a vault built over the 
high choir, and five years later a spire was 
erected over the central tower. This was 
damaged by lightning in 1687 and two years 
later it was blown down by a hurricane, injur¬ 
ing the northern transept and the vestry of the 
main structure. It was again struck by light- 




232 


In Viking Land 


ning in 1719 and everything was burned that 
could burn. 

Since 1869 the cathedral has undergone a 
thorough restoration. It has been entirely re¬ 
roofed; the chapter house and the choir, with 
its octagonal apse and elaborate south portal, 
have been rebuilt; and the great central tower 
has been completed. But the work of restora¬ 
tion will require many years before it is accom¬ 
plished. The annual grant for this purpose, 
amounting to about thirty thousand dollars a 
year, is provided by the national government, 
the savings bank of Trondhjem, and private 
individuals. It is being rebuilt of a grayish- 
blue soap-stone. 

Besides its saint and its cathedral, Trond¬ 
hjem has other interests for the traveller. It 
has very broad streets — from one hundred to 
one hundred and twenty feet wide — that run 
north and south, commanding a fine view of 
the beautiful fjord and the island of Munkholm, 
once the seat of a flourishing Benedictine mon¬ 
astery. The city has an academy of science, 
a museum of industrial art, a technical high 
school, and other public institutions of interest. 
Trondhjem has direct steamer connection with 
Bergen and the North Cape and railway con- 







THE BROAD STREETS OF TRONDHJEM. 



THE 


UNION 


RAILWAY STATION AT TRONDHJEM, 


























Trondhjem 


233 


nections with Christiania and Stockholm. It 
has a fine union railway station which, until 
recently, was the most northern building of its 
kind in the world. 




CHAPTER XVI 


BERGEN AND THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE 


Picturesque location of Bergen — Foundation of the city by 
King Olaf the Quiet — Early monastic institutions — The 
royal palace and Haakon’s Hall — Bergen during the civil 
wars — Nature of the Hanseatic league — Its place in the 
history of European commerce — First foothold in Bergen 

— Character of the German merchants — Articles of trade 

— Oppressive power of the league finally broken — Bergen 
during the eighteenth century — Commerce injured by the 
war between Denmark and England — Growth of industrial 
arts — The fishing industry — Municipal institutions — Art 
treasures — Leper hospitals. 


Bergen, one of the oldest and most pictur¬ 
esque cities of Norway, has a population of 
eighty-one thousand people. It is built on a 
promontory, and between it and the mainland 
on its northern side is the harbour of Han¬ 
seatic fame, the mainland to the south forming 
a large and natural haven. The business part 
of the town is on the northern side and the 
villas and country seats of the merchants on 
the south of the mainland. But for the four 
lofty mountains which rise in the background 

234 


Bergen and the Hanseatic League 235 


Bergen would be encircled with fjords. The 
climate of Bergen is similar to that of the west 
coast of Scotland; the winters are brief and 
not cold, and the summers have a mean sea¬ 
sonal temperature of about 58 degrees Fahren¬ 
heit. The rainfall is something enormous, 
about six and a half feet a year, in consequence 
of which, coupled with the mildness of the tem¬ 
perature, the vegetation is both abundant and 
varied. 

The city was founded in 1070 by King Olaf 
the Quiet, after the pattern of English coast- 
towns, with quays along the side of the bay. 
The royal residence, built forty years later, 
was located on Holmen, the present Bergen- 
hus, and the cathedral which was begun at the 
same period was not completed for a hundred 
years. The numerous monasteries — Benedic¬ 
tine, Cistercian, Augustine, and Franciscan — 
lay just outside of the town. By 1420 Bergen 
had as many as twenty-five churches and chap¬ 
els and the trade guilds had three religious 
organizations. Christ church was the largest 
ecclesiastical structure in the city. It was built 
to house a piece of the crown of thorns worn 
by Christ that King Philip III of France sent 
as a present to King Magnus the Law-Mender 




236 


In Viking Land 


Of all the early churches but two remain, St. 
Mary’s and the Holy Cross. 

The royal castle on Holmen was surrounded 
by strong walls, with immense towers over the 
• gates, and two stone halls, both in the Gothic 
style. Only one of the tower gates and Haa¬ 
kon’s hall survive. Before the period of the 
Hanseatic league Bergen had many fine pri¬ 
vate residences in the old Norse style of do¬ 
mestic architecture, but most of them disap¬ 
peared during the centuries that the city was 
in the hands of the foreigners. 

Bergen was a wealthy fishing city as early 
as the time of Haakon Haakonsson (1217- 
1263). The exportation of cod and herring 
was something enormous, occasioned by the 
numerous fast days then observed in Europe. 
Handicrafts flourished, and after the promul¬ 
gation of the new law of Magnus the Law- 
Mender (1263-1280) each craft had its partic¬ 
ular location in the town. During the early 
period Bergen was the scene of many fierce bat¬ 
tles. It was here that King Magnus the Blind 
was taken prisoner and mutilated; here that 
Harald Gille and Sigurd Mund were killed, and 
here that the Birchlegs fought their bloody but 
indecisive battle in 1198. Several coronations 




Bergen and the Hanseatic League 237 


and royal funerals took place in Christ church, 
for Bergen was the residence of the Norse 
kings for about a hundred years. But the chief 
interest of Bergen for the traveller is her con¬ 
nection with the Hanseatic league, a great Ger¬ 
man commercial trust that monopolized the 
foreign trade of Norway for more than four 
hundred years. 

The Hanseatic league was a combination of 
merchants of certain towns in northern Ger¬ 
many for the protection of commerce, the aboli¬ 
tion of competition, and the enrichment of 
themselves by monopolizing the trade in for¬ 
eign countries. Its aims and methods are ad¬ 
mirably illustrated by the enormous industrial 
combinations in the United States. The formal 
organization of the Hanseatic league dates 
from the year 1241. When its power was 
greatest it controlled the trade of sixty-four 
important towns in Europe, extending from 
Bergen in the north to Venice in the south, 
and from Novgorod and Smolensk in the east, 
to London and York in the west. Commercial 
towns that did not join the league met a fate 
not unlike that of the small American producer 
who does not join the trust. The league’s ban 
was more potent than that of the popes, for 





238 


In Viking Land 


commercial towns that did not become members 
of the federation and conform to its exactions 
lost their commerce at one blow. Bremen once 
had the temerity to decline membership in the 
league, and for a period of thirty years she 
was “ unhansed.” No city was permitted to 
have dealings with her. She was impoverished, 
grass grew in her streets, and hunger and des¬ 
olation took up their abode in her midst. 
When the penitent merchants finally sought 
admission to the league they had to take up 
heavy responsibilities in atonement for their 
misdeed. No matter what the cost, the league 
was determined to have a monopoly of trade, 
and this it did by concentrating the produc¬ 
tions of a country at a single point. This gave 
the Hanseatic merchants not only the first re¬ 
fusal of goods, but likewise the power of dom¬ 
inating the markets. The control of the com¬ 
merce of Europe was one of the primary aims 
of the league and it acquired this control in 
utter disregard of moral laws or the rights of 
the people whom it exploited. 

The first treaty of Liibeck with Bergen was 
concluded by King Haakon Haakonsson in 
1250, although a hundred years elapsed before 
the league was in complete control of the city. 




Bergen and the Hanseatic League 239 


Hitherto the merchants of Bergen had enjoyed 
a brisk trade with England and the Baltic 
ports, but all this was changed when the league 
located in Norway. Merchants were no longer 
permitted to buy from or to sell to the Dutch 
or English; and Bergen, that had been in exclu¬ 
sive possession of the trade with Greenland, 
had to renounce all maritime traffic. Traders 
sent to transact the business were Germans; 
and the local merchants “ saw themselves 
forced to pawn their land to the Hanseatics, 
in return for the mere necessities of life, and 
as they could rarely redeem their pledges, the 
whole city of Bergen gradually fell into the 
hands of these opulent traders.’’ 

The Norse kings at first unwittingly made 
concessions to the Hansa merchants, and when 
once in their power they were forced to con¬ 
tinue the extension of trade privileges. When 
Magnus Ericsson in 1367 refused to grant the 
additional concessions which were desired, the 
league sent its fleet to Norway and cruelly pil¬ 
laged and burned all the towns on the southern 
coast and the king was finally forced to yield. 
The Germans not only acquired complete con¬ 
trol of commerce, but also of the industries. 
German shoemakers, tanners, tailors, cloth- 





240 


In Viking Land 


dressers, and goldsmiths supplanted the native 
artisans; and at the time of its greatest power, 
the league maintained a force of more than 
three thousand men at Bergen. The men were 
all required to take vows of celibacy during the 
years that they were in the service of the league, 
the assumption being that marriage with Norse 
women might result in divulging some of the 
Hanseatic secrets. With scarcely an exception 
the men sent to Bergen belonged to the lowest 
classes of German society, and they generally 
led low and immoral lives. The rough and 
cruel initiation, which every new comer was 
forced to undergo, would have prevented peo¬ 
ple from the more refined classes from accept¬ 
ing service in the league. 

The Germans brought to Bergen, besides 
articles of food, salt, beer, wine, cloth, and 
metal goods, and they exported from Bergen 
to England, Holland and Friesland fish-prod¬ 
ucts, butter, leather, and timber. The fish of 
Norway constituted a gold-mine for the league, 
for at this time all Europe was Boman or 
Greek Catholic, and the fast days were numer¬ 
ous and rigidly observed. But the poor fisher¬ 
men of Nordland and the western fjords fared 
badly, for the league kept separate sets of 




Bergen and the Hanseatic League 241 


scales for buying and selling fish, and it always 
fixed its own prices. Thus the returns to the 
natives were insignificant. 

The rule of the league grew so oppressive in 
the sixteenth century that King Christian III 
determined to restrict its power. His first re¬ 
form measure put a stop to certain immoral 
practices of the merchants; later he allowed the 
natives of Bergen to share in the handicrafts, 
and finally the monopoly of the Nordland fish¬ 
eries was taken from the league. With the loss 
of exclusive privileges the prosperity and in¬ 
fluence waned, and its losses were so great dur¬ 
ing the Thirty Years’ War that it was forced 
to dissolve. Some of the merchants, artisans, 
clerks, and apprentices returned to Germany, 
but many remained in Bergen and became 
naturalized Norwegian citizens. 

The oppressive power of the league once 
broken, Bergen prospered. With the opening 
of the eighteenth century her mercantile fleet 
was the largest in Scandinavia. The destruc¬ 
tive fire of 1702 was a severe blow as the 
accumulated wealth of the city went up in the 
flames. The war with Sweden followed the fire 
and Bergen lost half her fleet. Algerian pirates 
at this period were practising the arts of by- 




242 


In Viking Land 


gone vikings, and Norwegian merchant vessels 
suffered greatly. The development of the 
Newfoundland cod fisheries by England and 
France created a serious rival for Bergen. 
Nevertheless the city regained her losses. A 
treaty was concluded with the Mediterranean 
pirates; local industries were improved and de¬ 
veloped ; the Greenland trade company was or¬ 
ganized, and by the close of the century Ber¬ 
gen’s fleet had increased from sixty-six to one 
hundred and fourteen ships, all engaged in 
foreign trade. 

The commerce of Bergen was checked by the 
war between Denmark and England at the be¬ 
ginning of the nineteenth century and the pros¬ 
perity of the city arrested. Thirty-eight of her 
ships were captured in British waters, twelve 
in the Mediterranean, twenty-six in the Skag¬ 
erak and the North Sea and thirty were con¬ 
demned or wrecked in foreign harbours. But 
with the peace of 1814, the exportation of fish 
set Bergen on her feet again, and by degrees 
trade slipped back into the old tracks. Up to 
1835 Bergen was the largest city in Norway, 
and she continued first in commercial impor¬ 
tance so late as 1876. Since these years Chris¬ 
tiania has stood first in population and trade. 






BERGEN FISH MARKET 









Bergen and the Hanseatic League 243 


At the present time Bergen has two hundred 
and ninety-one steamships, with a tonnage of 
260,500, and seventy-six sailing vessels. 

The industrial arts have made marked prog¬ 
ress in Bergen during the past fifty years. 
There are three hundred and thirty-five fac¬ 
tories in the city and its suburbs which employ 
seven thousand, six hundred and fifty persons. 
The chief industries are breweries, flour-mills, 
founderies, tanneries, margarine factories, 
paper mills, engineering work-shops, and spin¬ 
ning and weaving factories. Her trade rela¬ 
tions are largest with England and Germany, 
with whom she has direct and frequent steamer 
connections. The largest import item is flour 
and the largest export item fish. 

In Bergen everything in trade is umbrellas 
or fish. The city is the centre of the largest 
fish industry in the world; and in cod alone 
it sells more than seven million dollars’ worth 
each year. The fish market at the foot of mar¬ 
ket-place is of surpassing interest to the travel¬ 
ler. Small fishing boats are drawn up along 
the quay, the bows inward, with the fish lying 
loose in bow and stern where they were thrown 
after being caught; and just outside the craft 
of small boats are the larger decked smacks. 



244 


In Viking Land 


Tiliere are innumerable tubs and vats on the 
shore containing the live fish, for the people of 
Bergen prefer to buy their fish alive. The Ber¬ 
gen fisherman is an interesting ethnic type. He 
bas a “ muscular body, blue eyes, high cheek 
bones, a powerful jaw, shaggy beard, thickly 
matted hair, sou’wester, big boots, sleeves 
rolled up, knife and marline spike in his belt, 
rough trousers, and red shirt.” Not only the 
fish market but the German quay is literally 
packed with fish, fishermen, and fishing smacks. 

Bergen is one of the best administered cities 
in Europe. It has an efficient system of public 
and private schools; flourishing commercial 
and technical schools, and a public library pat¬ 
terned after similar institutions in the United 
States. The museums of science and art and 
the Hanseatic and fisheries museums are ex¬ 
cellently kept up. The notable historic monu¬ 
ments include Haakon’s hall, “ the large stone 
hall,” referred to by the sagas, the Rosen- 
kranz tower, and St. Mary’s church. The city 
has commemorative monuments of some emi¬ 
nent natives of Bergen. There is a good statue 
of Ludvig Holberg, the social reformer, poet, 
and writer of comedies; an excellent allegori¬ 
cal monument of Ole Bull, the violinist, by 




Bergen and the Hanseatic League 245 


Stephen Sinding, and a statue of Christie, the 
president of the first Norwegian parliament. 
Among other eminent natives of Bergen may 
be mentioned Johan Welhaven, the poet, Johan 
Christian Dahl, the painter, and Edvard Grieg, 
the music composer. 

In the matter of art treasures Bergen has 
not been able to compete with the national gal¬ 
lery at Christiania, but she has an altogether 
creditable collection of paintings and sculpture. 
Among the earlier Norwegian painters repre¬ 
sented are Dahl, Fearnley, Baade, Erich, and 
Gorbitz. Tidemand is represented by the 
“ Sorrowful Tidings ” and “ The Girl Read¬ 
ing Gude by five landscapes and sea pic¬ 
tures; Eckersberg by “ The Bridal Party in 
Hardanger ”; Muller by four forest scenes, 
and Ludwig Munthe by three winter subjects. 
The modern painters of the first rank — Thau- 
low, Werenskiold, Otto Sinding, Peterssen, and 
Krohg — are also well represented at Bergen. 
The gallery also possesses a large collection of 
water colours and drawings by Norwegian 
painters, and it frequently exhibits the works 
of contemporary artists. 

Bergen has two institutions to which a pa¬ 
thetic interest attaches — the leper hospitals, 






246 


In Viking Land 


one of which has been in existence since the 
middle ages. This dread disease was formerly 
very prevalent along the Norwegian coast. The 
damp climate, the absence of vegetables, the 
monotonous salt-fish diet, and the hardships 
and exposures incident to the life of the fisher¬ 
men favoured its development. Since the 
lepers have been isolated and denied the right 
of marriage (1856), there has been a decrease 
of nearly seventy per cent, in the number of 
cases. In the Bergen leper hospitals the pa¬ 
tients work at handicrafts; and, as the articles 
that are made are carefully cleansed before 
leaving the hospital, the spread of the disease 
by infection is presumably averted. 




CHAPTER XVII 


CHRISTIANIA THE MODERN CAPITAL 


The modern capital founded by King Christian IV — Its rapid 
growth — Three destructive fires — Some notable buildings 
— Fortress of Akershus and other historic monuments — 
Control of the liquor traffic in Christiania — Marked de¬ 
crease in intemperance — Improvement in public morals 
and decrease in the death rate — The Christiania fjord — 
Bygdo and the people’s museum — Hanko and summer re¬ 
sorts — Holmenkollen and winter sports — Skiing, ski-jump¬ 
ing, and ski-sailing — Tobogganing, hill-sliding, and ice¬ 
pegging. 


Christiania, the modern capital, has a beau¬ 
tiful situation at the head of a fjord of the 
same name. As early as 1050 Harald the Hard- 
Ruler founded the town of Oslo, which later be¬ 
came one of the trading stations of the Han¬ 
seatic league, and erected a cathedral where 
several of the Norse kings were subsequently 
buried, and where James I of England married 
Anne of Denmark in 1589. But Oslo was 
burned by the inhabitants in 1624 to prevent 
its falling into the hands of the Swedes. The 
modern city, like St. Petersburg, was built by 

247 


248 


In Viking Land 


royal mandate. Christian IV of Denmark, 
who, in an amateurish way, was something of 
an architect, visited the silver mines at Kongs- 
berg the year Oslo was burned. He decided 
to build a new city a bit to the west of the old 
town and to give it his name. The inhabitants 
of Oslo were not permitted to rebuild on their 
old grounds, but had lands allotted to them 
on the west bank of the Akers river. The peo¬ 
ple of Drammen and Moss were required to 
take up residence in the new city, and the tim¬ 
ber within a given district could be sold only 
to those engaged in building Christiania. 

While Christiania has suffered from three 
destructive fires —1686, 1708, and 1858 — 
measured by Norwegian standards, its growth 
has been singularly rapid, and it has to-day a 
population of more than 230,000 people. It is 
the seat of the national government, the su¬ 
preme court of the country, the national uni¬ 
versity and museums, and the residence of the 
king. It is first in commerce, as well as in 
population, and has a merchant fleet of two 
hundred steamers and one hundred and fifty 
sailing vessels. There is a large export trade 
in timber, paper, stone, herring, beer, and ice. 
The industries include ship-building works, 




Christiania the Modern Capital 249 


paper mills, and breweries. The city also ex¬ 
cels in the manufacture of jewelry, and par¬ 
ticularly in filigree work and enamel. 

Christiania is a clean and well-built city, with 
many handsome buildings of granite, red syen¬ 
ite, and Labrador stone. Among the important 
public buildings may be mentioned the king’s 
palace, the house of parliament, the national 
theatre, the university, the art gallery, and the 
industrial and historical museums. The king’s 
palace, an imposing structure at the head of 
the broad Carl-Johans Gaden in the west end 
of the city, does not improve upon close inspec¬ 
tion. The house of parliament, while not an 
imposing building, has an impressive fagade 
and the Storthings Hall contains one of Werge- 
land’s best historical paintings. The national 
theatre is one of the most recent buildings of 
the capital, and the university buildings are 
probably the most effective architecturally. 
The national gallery, built in the Italian Ren¬ 
aissance style, has an excellent collection of 
paintings by Norwegian artists, reference to 
which is made in a subsequent chapter on the 
art of Norway. 

The fortress of Akershus, dating from the 
thirteenth century, is the most important his- 




250 


In Viking Land 


toric pile in the city. It has played a leading 
role in the history of Norway, having been re¬ 
peatedly unsuccessfully besieged by the Swedes 
and Danes. It is now used as an arsenal and 
prison. Among other notable monuments in 
the city may be mentioned the statue of Chris¬ 
tian IV by Jacobsen, the equestrian statue of 
Bernadotte in front of the royal palace by 
Bergslien, the statue of Wergeland by the same 
sculptor, and the colossal statues of Ibsen and 
Bjornson in front of the national theatre by 
Stephen Sinding. There is also a seated figure 
of Asbjornsen, the writer of fairy tales, on St. 
John’s Hill, by Bergslien. The oldest church 
in the city is the Gamle Akers church founded 
by Olaf the Quiet (1066-1093). It is a basilica 
in the English-Norman Romanesque style of 
architecture. 

The public control of the liquor traffic in 
Christiania is of keen interest to the student 
of municipal administration. The Goteborg 
system was introduced into Norway about forty 
years ago and it has resulted in a tremendous 
decrease in the use of alcoholic beverages. The 
Goteborg system gives each municipality the 
right to decide if liquors shall be sold within its 
jurisdiction; and since its adoption, the num- 




Christiania the Modem Capital 251 


ber of places where liquor is sold has decreased 
from five hundred and one to one hundred and 
thirty, in spite of the marked increase of the 
population of the country during the same 
period. The purpose of the system is not to 
prevent but to regulate and control the use of 
spirits. 

Originally Norway did not enjoy an enviable 
reputation in the matter of the drink habits of 
her people. The long nights of winter, the cold 
weather, the damp climate, and the isolated 
habits of the people sent them to the pipe for 
warmth and company and to the spirit bottle 
as an accompaniment to the tobacco box. In¬ 
temperance became so widespread that the 
decade between 1830 and 1840 is usually char¬ 
acterized in Norwegian history as “the liquor 
plague.’’ Its disastrous moral, economic, and 
hygienic results called the attention of the 
government to the seriousness of the problem, 
and reform measures, regulating the traffic, 
were forthwith introduced in the national par¬ 
liament. 

With the adoption of the Goteborg system 
in Christiania in 1871, the local liquor dealers 
were required to make over their retail rights 
to certain philanthropic companies authorized 




252 


In Viking Land 


by tlie municipal government. These compa¬ 
nies have no economic interests in the returns 
of the business, hence, instead of trying to in¬ 
crease their patronage, they have sought to re¬ 
duce it. Moreover, in Norway all profits from 
the sale of spirits go to objects of public utility, 
rather than to the municipal fund as in Sweden. 
In Christiania, for example, the profits from 
the sale of liquors go to the national theatre, 
the Salvation Army, the art and industrial mu¬ 
seums, temperance societies, children’s hospi¬ 
tals, and vacation tours for poor children. 

This is distinctly beneficial to the health and 
morals of the communities since it does not 
tempt stingy municipalities to swell their reve¬ 
nues by a good trade in the sale of liquors. 
The traffic is in the hands of a corporation of 
select and benevolent citizens who are entitled 
to receive five per cent, on their investments. 
The shares of the corporation are held by men 
and women in whom the municipalities have en¬ 
tire confidence, and those engaged to dispense 
the spirits must be of temperate habits and 
possess high moral qualifications. The booze 
shops are generally open from eight o’clock in 
the morning until seven in winter and eight in 




Christiania the Modern Capital 253 


summer. Evenings preceding Sundays and 
holidays they are required to close at six 
o’clock, and the shops are closed on Sundays 
and holidays. One drink to be consumed on the 
premises, or a bottle to be consumed elsewhere, 
may be sold to individuals over eighteen years 
old not oftener than once an hour, and the sale 
of second drinks or bottles is left entirely to 
the discretion of the salesmen in the booze 
shops. The rooms where the liquors are sold 
are severely plain, no one is allowed to sit 
down, and there are no newspapers, music, or 
other attractions. 

Norway originally consumed more alcohol 
per inhabitant than any country in Europe; to¬ 
day her annual consumption per inhabitant is 
less than every European country, with the ex¬ 
ception of Finland, where, since the adoption of 
women’s suffrage the booze business has been 
practically legislated out of the country. Only 
a fourth of the quantity of spirits is consumed 
in Norway per inhabitant as compared with the 
consumption before the adoption of the Gote- 
borg system. The saving to the people in dol¬ 
lars reaches the millions. Crime has decreased 
and the decrease in the death rate as the im¬ 
mediate result of alcoholism has dropped from 




254 


In Viking Land 


33 per 10,000 of the population to 10.5. The 
Norwegian people are educating themselves to 
total abstinence, and the national total absti¬ 
nence society, which has the hearty co-operation 
of the government, has something like one hun¬ 
dred and thirty thousand members. 

It should be noted in this connection that 
beer, which in Norway contains about three and 
a half per cent, of alcohol, is not regarded as a 
liquor; but I have it upon good authority that 
“ it would take a long time to become intoxi¬ 
cated upon the light Norwegian beer.” The 
Goteborg system has operated so admirably in 
the Scandinavian countries that it is keenly to 
be regretted that no American community has 
had the temerity to give it a fair trial. 

The Christiania fjord is picturesque but not 
grand, as compared with the fjords of the 
western coast. It is so cut up with islands that 
it presents the appearance of innumerable 
small lakes. It is about fifty miles long and is 
surrounded by rocky banks wooded with pines 
and birches. Geologically it is a chasm in the 
primeval mountains with sunken layers of 
Silurian slate and limestone overlaid by masses 
of volcanic rock. The fjord is frozen over 
about two months of the year, although the 







ON THE CHRISTIANIA l'JORD 







Christiania the Modern Capital 255 


winter climate of Christiania is not severe. 
The winter temperature averages about 23° 
and the summer 60° Fahrenheit. 

Few European cities have such attractive 
suburbs as Christiania. To the west is Bygdo, 
a wooded peninsula which contains the royal 
chateau of Oscarshall and the people’s museum 
illustrative of the history of Norway. Oscar¬ 
shall is a tiny palace in the English Gothic 
style. It is adorned with paintings represent¬ 
ing Norwegian peasant life by Tidemand and 
landscapes from Frith jof’s saga by Gude. The 
palace commands a superb view of the fjord. 
The national museum is broadly illustrative of 
the peasant life of Norway. It contains 
fabrics, furniture, and household utensils from 
the different sections of the kingdom, as well 
as completely furnished houses typical of dif¬ 
ferent provinces and historic periods. A tim¬ 
ber church from Gol in Hallingdal, belonging 
to the thirteenth century, has been transferred 
to the museum grounds, and there are several 
farmhouses from Telemarken and other prov¬ 
inces, with their original furniture and other 
appurtenances. 

To the south of Christiania is the island of 
Hanko, a fashionable and frequented summer 




256 


In Viking Land 


bathing place, with numerous fine villas and 
beautiful pine woods; and still nearer the city, 
on the banks of the fjord, is Drobak, another 
fashionable watering place and summer pleas¬ 
ure-ground for the people of the capital. Here 
is also located the marine biological station of 
the university. 

To the north of the capital are the hills of 
Holmenkollen, the winter resort of Christiania. 
While Norway is best known as a summer ex¬ 
cursion ground for tourists, Christiania is fast 
becoming a popular winter resort for those in¬ 
terested in such out-door sports as skiing, 
sledging, skating, tobogganing, ice-pegging, and 
the like. Concerning the winter sports an en¬ 
thusiastic English artist writes: i 1 After the 
first heavy fall of snow, the days become bright 
and clear and blue skies prevail, often for sev¬ 
eral weeks in succession. The air is here fresh 
and bracing, and the five hours of sunshine, 
during even the shortest days, make walking, 
sleighing, and ski-running attractive exercise. 
On the darkest nights of mid-winter the sky 
is palpitant with the luminous northern lights 
— the aurora borealis — which stream up from 
behind the dark mountains in prismatic hues 
of great brilliance; and when the full moon 





SKI - DRIVING. 



SKI - JUMPING. 















Christiania the Modem Capital 257 


shines on the sparkling fjord and on the deep 
crisp snow, it is exhilarating to take a long 
sleigh drive over the frosty roads by the mar¬ 
gin of the fjord.” 

The ski, or Norwegian snow-shoe, furnishes 
the widest range of sport for the votaries of 
snow and ice. Its use for purposes of loco¬ 
motion is very ancient, having been introduced 
into Norway in pre-Christian times by the 
Lapps. The ski is made from narrow strips of 
seasoned ash seven or eight feet long; and it 
is widely used by farmers, lumbermen, and 
soldiers, as well as by sportsmen. 

Ski-jumping is one of the favourite winter 
amusements at Holmenkollen. A platform is 
built on a steep hillside, from which the skier 
leaps into space, balancing himself as best he 
can with outstretched arms, so as to maintain 
an upright position in the air. After a flight 
of a few seconds he alights on the hinder part 
of the ski and is carried down the hill with tre¬ 
mendous rapidity. He must, however, alight 
and remain in an upright position. Practised 
skiers make leaps of more than one hundred 
feet. 

Ski-sailing on the mountain heaths is another 
unique branch of ski sports. A large square 




258 


In Viking Land 


sail is placed between the skier and the wind. 
Sometimes as many as three persons may be 
drawn by the same sail. If the wind is good 
and the ground in fair condition, a ski-sailor 
will easily cover from eighty to one hundred 
miles in a day. 

Tobogganing is one of the favourite winter 
sports on the Frogner ridge near Christiania. 
The Norwegian toboggan is from five to seven 
feet long and a foot wide and slides on broad 
steel-shod runners. It is steered by the person 
sitting farthest behind by means of a pine pole 
fifteen feet long. This pole has the thickness 
of the wrist at the end held and it gradually 
tapers towards the end that trails on the 
ground behind the toboggan. 

Hill-sliding on snow skates is a sport that 
is a cross between sledging and skating. The 
skates are miniature sledge runners about two 
feet long and an inch broad and they are 
strapped to the foot like a skate. They are 
used chiefly in sliding down steep hills, although 
with the aid of the sharp pointed ski-rods they 
may be used on the level like ordinary skates. 

Ice-pegging is an old Norwegian sport that 
originated among the fishermen of the western 
fjords. Besides the fishing-sledge, two short 



Christiania the Modern Capital 259 


light rods, fitted with sharp ice-spikes, are used 
as propellers. Ice-pegging is practised not 
only on the frozen rivers, lakes, and fjords, but 
also on the firm crust of the snow. 




CHAPTER XVIII 


NORSE LETTERS AND HENRIK IBSEN 


Origin of the languages and literature of Scandinavia — Re¬ 
vived interest in the old Norse — The ancient runes — 
Literary influences of the union with Denmark — Peder 
Dass and the seventeenth century — Union with Sweden 
and literary independence — Wergeland and Welhaven — 
Norwegian literature to-day — Bjornson — His romances, 
dramas, and personality — Henrik Ibsen — Socialist and 
psychologist — “ Peer Gynt ” and Norwegian peasant life 

— Ibsen’s art — “ Brand ” — Ibsen’s dramas characterized — 
Current men of letters—Jonas Lie and his romances — The 
novelettes of Kielland — Heilberg and dramatic literature 

— The bow of promise of Norwegian literary art. 


The old Norse language, still preserved in 
Iceland although changed in the matter of pro¬ 
nunciation, was the parent of the languages 
of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Before the 
year 800 the Norse was spoken thoughout Scan¬ 
dinavia, but after that date it was gradually 
modified in Sweden and Denmark. After the 
Kalmar union, the old language of Norway was 
relegated to the rural districts; and the profes¬ 
sional and official classes adopted the Danish. 
This has given the two nations an identical 


260 


Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 261 


literary language ; but the spoken languages of 
the two countries differ markedly. The pro¬ 
nunciation is slower than in Denmark and final 
letters are less frequently dropped. 

During the past century the rapid develop¬ 
ment of national feeling has aroused keen in¬ 
terest in the original language of the country. 
Ivar Aason was the father of the new move¬ 
ment. His Norse grammar and numerous es¬ 
says on the old Norse folk speech gave Norway 
a proud sense of linguistic individuality. After 
him, the sympathetic portrayal of the ideas and 
aspirations of the common people, in the writ¬ 
ings of Jens Tvedt, helped greatly the cause. 
Forty years ago a society was organized for 
the publication of useful books in the old 
language; and in 1885 the national parliament 
made provision for the publication of school 
books in the Norse. Philologists, clergymen, 
and students have added interest to the new 
linguistic movement; and the language, which 
for more than five hundred years was spoken 
only by peasants, is now dignified by scholars 
and promises to become the vehicle of a new 
literature. This at least is the hope of every 
patriotic Norwegian. As Bruun has remarked: 
“ To every Norseman this should be a burning 




262 


In Viking Land 


question — that his mother-tongue, compelled 
so long to cede its place, now treasures the hope 
of reinstatement.” 

When the Norsemen first attempted to give 
expression to their thoughts they did so by 
means of runes cut upon wood or stone, but the 
viking age, during the eighth, ninth, and tenth 
centuries, modified greatly both the method of 
writing and speaking the old language. It was 
during this period that a rich literature de¬ 
veloped, some of which has been preserved in 
collections of legends illustrative of the myth¬ 
ology of Scandinavia. Before the days of 
bridge-whist, the Norsemen cheered the gloom 
of the long winter nights by relating the ex¬ 
ploits of their gods and their ancestors. Sub¬ 
sequently the recital of heroic poems and eulo¬ 
gies was delegated to professional poets and 
historiographers, known as scalds. The poems 
of the eddas, preserved in Iceland, throw a flood 
of light not only on the early literature of 
Scandinavia, but also on the ideals and habits 
of the people. 

The result of the union with Denmark and 
the Hanseatic mercantile power, as Brinch- 
mann has pointed out, gave the literature and 
culture of Norway a Danish and north German 




Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 263 


stamp. With tlie Lutheran reformation the 
church became a government institution and 
the more remunerative positions were filled by 
graduates of the university of Copenhagen. 
Danish became the language of the church as 
well as of the state, and the Bible which the 
Lutherans gave to the people was in Danish. 
It was only in law that the native language of 
Norway held out against the intrusion of the 
Danish. 

The first writer of consequence during the 
period of Danish rule was Peder Dass, who 
lived during the seventeenth century in the 
winter darkness of Nordland with the sombre 
Atlantic for his neighbour; but there was 
brightness in his nature and he glorified the 
scenery and the life of the cold northland. He 
turned the catechism and Bible into poetry and 
his writings had widespread popularity. Fol¬ 
lowing Dass came Ludwig Holberg, the Moliere 
of the north and the writer of more than a 
score of plays. He was also the author of a 
long series of popular books dealing with Nor¬ 
wegian and Danish history, which brought the 
author a fortune and created out of the hith¬ 
erto uncultivated Danish tongue “ a rich and 
ingenious literary language.” 




264 


In Viking Land 


Tlie literary independence of Norway came 
with tlie separation from Denmark in 1814. 
Henceforth Norwegian authors, while continu¬ 
ing to write in the Dano-Norwegian, felt the 
impulse of the national movement. Henrik 
Wergeland and Johan Sebastian Welhaven 
were the leaders of the literary revival that 
was awakened by the warmth of the new inde¬ 
pendence. Wergeland, remarks Chr. Brinch- 
mann, “ rushed into life, intoxicated with 
ecstasy over its fulness, a youth more light of 
heart than the lightest hearted, and yet of a 
deep and manly intellect, to whom existence 
revealed its seriousness and its claim to the de¬ 
votion of the whole personality.’’ He repre¬ 
sented the best aspirations of the common peo¬ 
ple and very properly became their hero. In 
the fulness of his heart he “ glorified the strug¬ 
gle for liberty in poetic cycles, lashed his ad¬ 
versaries with wild farces, blamed the authori¬ 
ties with tempestuous eloquence for their weak 
national feeling, and ardently incited his coun¬ 
trymen to free themselves entirely from the 
traditions that still maintained, through their 
civil servants, the old dependence on Danish 
culture. ’ ’ 

Welhaven, on the contrary, “ felt his severe 



Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 265 


taste offended by the noisy national move¬ 
ment ” led by Wergeland, and joined tbe bu¬ 
reaucrats, that being the only aristocracy that 
Norway possessed, the recent constitutional 
convention at Eidsvold having abolished the 
privileged nobility. In his “ Dawn of Nor¬ 
way ” he laid bare the vulgarity and selfishness 
of democratic aspirations and strongly advo¬ 
cated a more gradual, even, and continuous 
national development, and the necessary de¬ 
pendence on Danish culture. He possessed 
larger literary ideals and a finer aesthetic sense 
than Wergeland, but he influenced less pro¬ 
foundly the subsequent development of Nor¬ 
wegian letters; for it was Wergeland, as 
Bjornson has somewhere remarked, who was 
“ the bright tutelary spirit of the new Nor¬ 
wegian poetry. He dreamed all the dreams of 
our young liberty. ’’ 

It is, however, in the history of the literature 
of our own day that we find the most substan¬ 
tial Norse contributions. Bjornstjerne Bjorn¬ 
son, still living, and Henrik Ibsen, lately de¬ 
ceased, represent the high-water mark in Norse 
letters and enjoy international fame. Bjorn¬ 
son, the lesser of the two satellites, is best 
known to foreigners as the novelist of the 




266 


In Viking Land 


rough, strenuous life of the Norwegian peas¬ 
ants, although he has written many dramas 
which have had wide vogue in Germany and 
other European countries. His historical plays 
include “ Trilogy on Sigurd Slembe,” “ Be¬ 
tween the Fights,’’ “ Maria Stuart,” and 
“ Lame Hulda,” the latter a semi-historical 
piece interspersed with some beautiful lyrics. 
“ Labour,” one of his later dramas, is of the 
psychological and analytical sort, and on the 
technical side, at least, it shows striking coinci¬ 
dences with the dramatic formulas invented by 
Ibsen. 

It is in such romances as “ Synnove Solbak- 
ken,” “ Arne,” “ The Happy Boy,” and “ The 
Fisher Maiden ” that he has done some of his 
best work. These enchanting pictures of the 
life of the people, together with his numerous 
political addresses, have a distinct smack of 
the soil and they are saturated with wholesome 
optimism. Bjornson has been in the thick of 
the great national struggle which resulted three 
years ago in the rehabilitation of the Norse 
kingdom, and he has been prominently identi¬ 
fied with all the great reform movements in his 
country during the past half century. And, 
while he occupies a large place in the hearts of 





HENRIK IBSEN 







Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 267 


liis countrymen for liis fearless political leader¬ 
ship, in the field of letters he is clearly outdis¬ 
tanced by his great contemporary, Henrik Ib¬ 
sen. 

Concerning the personality of Bjornson Mr. 
"William E. Curtis writes: “ At Aulestad, as 
he calls his country place, he receives many 
visitors and gives friends and strangers a uni¬ 
form welcome. They take him as he is without 
formality or ceremony, and whether his guest 
is a prince or a peasant there is no difference 
in the form of entertainment or the heartiness 
of his hospitality. Bjornson’s great heart is so 
comprehensive that it admits everyone to its 
embrace. Although he has a large income from 
his books and lectures, he has never been able 
to accumulate money, while Ibsen, whose rev¬ 
enues have not been so great, is a rich man. 
"Whatever Bjornson has not wasted on his farm 
he has given to the poor or lost through his 
confidence in humanity.’’ In spite of the fact 
that Bjornson’s daughter married Ibsen’s son, 
the two authors have never been friends. It 
has been asserted that they always quarrelled 
when they came together, Bjornson maintain¬ 
ing that Ibsen was an idiot and Ibsen holding 




268 


In Viking Land 


tenaciously to the conviction that Bjornson was 
an ass. 

Probably no modern author has been more 
genuinely abused in his own country and in 
foreign lands than Henrik Ibsen. He has been 
described as an egoist and a bungler, a crazy 
fanatic, consistently dirty, deplorably immoral, 
and eternally groping for horrors by night and 
blinking like a stupid owl. His dramas have 
given the critics the shivers and his admirers 
have been characterized as nasty-minded peo¬ 
ple, lovers of literary carrion, and muck ferret¬ 
ing dogs. Ibsen is distinctly a surgeon of souls 
and as such he is unquestionably the first psy¬ 
chological playwright of modern times. 

He warred in his art against manifold spirit¬ 
ual wrongs — hypocrisy, stagnation in medi¬ 
ocrity and mere tradition, the arid passion for 
petty criticism, and the heaviness of a small 
society without motion. He spoke in no un¬ 
certain terms on the great social questions of 
the day — the labour movement, the emancipa¬ 
tion of women, the peace question, and the need 
of awakened responsibility among all classes 
of society. It was his profound conviction that 
the wild strife for republican equality in Nor¬ 
way had produced a people who, in their pri- 



Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 269 


vate lives, were sordid, selfish, and sexually im¬ 
moral, and in their public lives narrow, self- 
interested, conventional, and hypocritical. 

Certainly the picture that he paints of the 
moral forces operating in Norway is anything 
but lovely; but it would probably be as unfair 
to accept Ibsen’s “ Peer Gynt ” as typical of 
Norse peasant life as to regard Zola’s “ La 
Terre ” as representative of life in the French 
provinces. Ibsen is not merely a pessimist and 
satirist, but a social reformer who deals with 
living truths “ as a surgeon deals with an ulcer 
— with a knife and a hot iron. He cuts and 
cauterizes the vices and follies of society.” In 
“ A Doll’s House ” he has affirmed the human 
rights of women in marriage; in “ Ghosts ” 
the terrible consequences of heredity; and in 
‘ 4 An Enemy of the People ’ ’ the thankless task 
of attempting to repair the flaws of society. 
He often deals with delicate topics in an un¬ 
conventional manner, but his viewpoint is al¬ 
ways that of the moralist and the social re¬ 
former. 

Haldane MacFall, in an admirable little book 
on the significance of Ibsen’s art, lias well re¬ 
marked: “ The year of the north is one long 
day and one long night. Out of the bright, 



270 


In Viking Land 


jocund day of Norway, amidst the scent of 
flowers and the blithe singing of birds was born 
the great-souled Bjornson, vikingesque, of 
mighty heart, a virile giant, vigorous, trumpet- 
tongued, believing in his fellow men. Out of 
the long black night of her winter came Henrik 
Ibsen, blinking owl-like; out of the solemn 
gloom he came, a brooding figure, tragic, un¬ 
afraid; within his stern will a rending energy 
lurked, that, when he gave it tongue, cracked 
and rent the ground of untruth on which the 
generations had trod. Probing into the dark 
places of the human soul, he plucked the cloak 
from 4 respectability, ’ and showed the drab and 
shabby make-believe that lurked within; and, 
in the doing, proved himself the supreme satir¬ 
ist and playwright of his age.” 

In “ Brand ” and 11 Peer Gynt ” he aban¬ 
doned the heroes of the sagas, with which he 
had hitherto occupied his dramatic muse, and 
flung himself into the unheroic present, assert¬ 
ing the claims of an unyielding idealism upon 
the individual to be himself and to be it 
throughout, not piecemeal and divided. The 
scene in “ Brand ” is laid in a bleak mountain 
valley ‘ 4 where the snow falls, storms grow and 
threaten and rage, glacier and snow hold 




Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 271 


mighty dangers — a valley into which the life- 
giving sun shines only for three short weeks of 
the long, dreary year, and that, too, only on 
the upper walls of the mountain’s sides that 
hem it in — a place where all that is frail and 
delicate and tender sickens and dies. Here 
neither corn nor the fruits of the earth ripen; 
and famine stalks through the place like an 
eternal curse.” The village mayor is a man 
without manhood, a well-meaning person devoid 
of heroism and ideals; the state-appointed par¬ 
son has no real care for the welfare of his 
flock, “ pointing them to an ideal on Sunday 
that they cannot carry out in their work-a-day 
week ”; the schoolmaster is likewise deadened 
by current officialism, not daring to be himself; 
and the miserable poor folk, who, with bitter 
labour, “ filch a pittance from nature in her 
most grudging moods,” are lulled to inaptitude 
and rank materialism. 

“ Peer Gynt,” a liar and a rogue, strutting 
as a hero through braggart self-deception, 
personifies the pushing, self-seeking, wealth- 
pursuing Norwegian of to-day. It angered his 
countrymen, for they regarded it as a satire 
on national peasant life. “ They have discov¬ 
ered much more satire in it than was intended 






272 


In Viking Land 


by me,” wrote Ibsen, 44 why can they not read 
the book as a poem! As such I wrote it.” But 
the satire was probably deserved, even though 
not directly intended. 

The twenty-one dramas of Ibsen have re¬ 
cently been brought out in America by the 
Scribners in eleven volumes, and they show his 
large grasp of deep psychological problems and 
his mastery of the resources of the stage. In 
44 The League of Youth ” he deals with the 
force of public opinion and the consequent 
dread of scandals in the relations of the sexes; 
in 4 4 The Pillars of Society ’ ’ he castigates self- 
interested individuals who enjoy the confidence 
of the community and promote public schemes 
to feather their own pockets; in 44 The Wild 
Duck ” he satirizes the unequal severity with 
which women are punished for sexual sins; 
44 Rosmersholm ” deals with the sordid nature 
of local politicians, and 44 Hedda Grabler ” 
with the self-absorption of the typical girl of 
the period. 

These and a dozen similar 44 hypocrisies and 
the narrow ways of the sordid wayfaring that 
respectability has narrowed within the meagre 
hedge of lies and humbug which hem the silted 
and mean path of the convention-ridden 




Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 273 


world ” Ibsen has had the temerity to discuss 
with characteristic frankness. Best of all, his 
dramas are always dramas with ideas. One of 
his critics has truly said: “ Like the old sea- 
dogs of whom he came — and they left their 
mark upon his features and his soul — he was 
a stubborn fighter. Peace he held as not the 
most desirable condition; the warfare of 
strenuous living was the more healthy for man. 
His eyes were the watchful eyes of the sailor 
folk, at constant guard for the threat of dan¬ 
ger that may leap forth on every hand — out 
of the summer sky above, or the calm waters 
beneath, or from out the seething hell of the 
black, bewildering tempest — ever ready for 
war with the elements without. So did he keep 
ward against the elements of weaknesses 
within. ’ 91 

Among the more recent authors may be men¬ 
tioned Jonas Lie, a prolific writer on the habits 
and customs of the Norwegian people; Mrs. 
Alvide Prydz, the foremost woman novelist, 
several of whose romances have been translated 
into English, German, and Russian; Alexander 
Kielland, the author of a series of enchanting 


Haldane MacFall: Ibsen: the Man, his Art, and his Sig¬ 
nificance. London, 1907. pp. 336. 




274 


In Viking Land 


novelettes; Arne Garborg, a writer of melodi¬ 
ous verses and firm sketches; Ivar Mortenson, 
a lyric poet and dreamer; Camilla Collet, the 
novelist who has championed energetically the 
emancipation of women; Amalie Skram, whose 
novels are of the unsavoury naturalist sort; 
and Fridtjof Nansen, the explorer, statesman, 
and author of scientific works. 

Concerning the writers of later date than 
Ibsen and Bjornson, and with special reference 
to the recently deceased Jonas Lie, Brinch- 
mann writes: u The awakening of realism in 
the sixties gradually brought forth a fresh 
series of talented authors. Bjornson’s peasant 
romances had already found successors in 
Magdelena Tlioresen and Kristofer Janson. 
The latter, however, soon devoted himself to 
the preaching of Unitarianism, and was for 
ten years a preacher among his countrymen 
in North America. While this awakening ex¬ 
clusively, so far as Ibsen was concerned, and 
in Bjornson’s case, at any rate mainly, bene¬ 
fited the drama, it reached the field of romance 
through their contemporary in age and art, 
Jonas Lie, at about the same time. With his 
somewhat tardy debut as an author in 1870, 
he at once won the Norwegian literary world 





FRIDTJOF NANSEN 




Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 275 


by bis delightful novel, ‘ The Visionary/ and 
followed up his victory by a series of fresh, 
every-day descriptions, some from Nordland 
— 6 The Three-master Future ’ — some from 
sea-life — ‘ The Pilot and his Wife/ ‘Rut¬ 
land/ and ‘ Go Ahead.* The intuitive sense 
for the psychological which was apparent even 
here, attained its full development when he at 
length discovered the happy knack of convert¬ 
ing into an artistic form the manifold experi¬ 
ences he had acquired before his debut, by per¬ 
sonal participation in the speculations of the 
promoter period, right up to the crash. In a 
long series of impressionistically life-like pic¬ 
tures, he paints his careful observations of the 
vital processes of family and society — 1 One 
of Life’s Slaves/ ‘ The Gilje Family/ ‘ A 
Whirlpool/ ‘ The Commodore’s Daughters/ 
‘ A Conjugal Union/ ‘ Evil Powers/ and 
1 When the Sun Goes Down.’ Calmly and 
without delusion, he looks upon the ways of 
mankind; but in Jonas Lie we find, instead of 
the frigidity of contemporary naturalism, the 
intelligent sympathy of a warm nature, and 
the humour of a cheerful mind that speaks to 
the heart.” 

Warmth and good nature likewise cliarac- 





276 


In Viking Land 


terized tlie sketches of Alexander Kielland. 
According to the historian of contemporary 
Norse literature already quoted, the great 
charm of Kielland’s descriptions “ lies in the 
masterly way in which he handles his language, 
the well balanced verve of a man of the world. 
One after another, this author, whose maturity 
was evident from the very first, sent out a 
series of enchanting novelettes and excellent 
novels — 4 Work People,’ 4 Else,’ ‘Skipper 
Worse,’ and ‘ Poison.’ ” Both Lie and Kiel¬ 
land tried their hands at dramatic literature, 
but the field was so entirely occupied by Bjorn- 
son and Ibsen, that neither attained distinction 
in this department of letters. 

More than local success, however, has re¬ 
cently come to Gunnar Heilberg as a play- 
riglit. “ King Midas,” “ Artists,” “ Gert’s 
Garden,” “ The Balcony,” and u The Great 
Lottery Prize ” are characterized by compe¬ 
tent critics as masterpieces in dramatic art. 
More recently he has written comedies after 
the classic models of Aristophanes, in which 
he has caricatured the politicians and the 
press. A Norse writer says of his dramas: 
“ A cuttingly keen intelligence sparkles out 
everywhere, and a merciless comprehension of 





Norse Letters and Henrik Ibsen 277 


every detail that raises dissension among peo¬ 
ple with nerves.” 

While most of the younger writers are not 
known in England and America, it seems more 
than likely that Gamle Norge has more than 
her share of the rainbow of literary promise, 
and that from among the sombre fjords and 
the bleak fjelds of Viking Land one may expect 
during the century that is before us more gi¬ 
ants of the Ibsen sort. 





CHAPTER XIX 


FOLK-MUSIC AND EDVARD GRIEG 


Origin of Norwegian folk-songs — How they typify the coun¬ 
try — Significance of the epics — Ancient musical instru¬ 
ments — The Hardanger violin, the lur, and the langeleik — 
Rhythms of the national dances — Ole Bull and national 
music — Labours of Kjerulf, Nordraak, Winter-Hjelm, and 
Christian Sinding — Women composers — Edvard Grieg the 
greatest of Norwegian creative tone-artists — His early 
training and studies in Germany — Wide range of his com¬ 
positions —• The national element of his music — Pianoforte 
compositions — Grieg’s lyric art-songs — Orchestral and 
chamber-music — Place of Grieg in the history of music — 
Concert virtuosi — Norwegian pianists — Choral socities and 
music festivals — The Norwegian Musical Union. 


If the dwellers of the deep fjords, the sombre 
fir-clad mountain valleys, and the bleak ice¬ 
fields do not “ open their lips so readily for 
song ” as the people of southern lands where 
the sun creates an eternal spring, it is not be¬ 
cause they are without lyric power as is clearly 
apparent from the rich and varied folk-songs 
and the splendid creative work of Edvard 
Grieg. 

The Norwegian folk-songs, spring dances, 

278 


Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 279 


ballings, and wedding marches have been well 
characterized as the outpourings of the inner 
lives of the common people, the expression of 
their dauntless energy, their struggles and 
aspirations. The folk-song of Norway, more 
than in any other land, embodies the character 
and expresses the tendencies of viking life, 
ancient and modern. It bears the unmistakable 
marks of the weal and woe of Norse life, the 
strongly marked and regularly introduced 
rhythms of the developed and developing na¬ 
tional character. And while an undercurrent 
of melancholy runs through most of it, it is, 
after all, the faithful interpreter of the lives 
of isolated and solitary occupants of fjords, 
fjelds, and dalen. 

The folk-songs of Norway are singularly 
typical of the country and its inhabitants. 
Some “ seem to take us into the dense forest 
among mocking echoes from the life outside; 
others show us the trolls tobogganing down the 
highest peaks of Norway; in some we feel 
human souls hovering above the reefs; in 
others, memories of the old sun-lit land flit be¬ 
fore us; but in none do we meet with senti¬ 
mentalism, despondency, or disconsolateness. ” 
But with their weird and minor strains, and 




280 


In Viking Land 


their odd jumps from low tones to liigli, on first 
acquaintance they strike tlie hearer as strange 
and elusive. 

Some of the epic songs, as in Telemarken, 
are of great antiquity. But it was not until 
the last century that Norse tone artists discov¬ 
ered the wealth that had long been cherished 
by the peasants of the fjords and mountain 
valleys. Lindeman (1812-1887) was the first 
to recognize the musical significance of Nor¬ 
wegian folk-songs. He collected many hundred 
national ballads, hymns, and dances and called 
attention to their richness and variety as 
thematic material for a school of national 
music. In Lindeman’s collection will be found 
songs which tell of the heroic exploits of old 
Norse vikings, kings, and earls of the heathen 
days of Thor and Odin, together with lyrics, 
deep and ardent, which sing of the loves, the 
joys and the sorrows of the humbler Chris¬ 
tian folks. 

The Hardanger violin, the lur and the lange- 
leik have played a leading role in the develop¬ 
ment of Norwegian folk-songs and dances. 
The Hardanger instrument is more arched than 
the ordinary violin; there are four strings over 
the finger-board and four underneath, the lat- 





Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 281 


ter of fine steel wire, acting as sympathetic 
strings. The men of the Hardanger fjord 
have long been distinguished for the workman¬ 
ship and tonal qualities of their violins, and 
with them the peasants have improvised the 
rich and varied impressions of nature which 
we find embodied in the folk-songs. The lur 
is a long wooden instrument of the trumpet 
order and is usually made of birch bark. It is 
much used in the mountains. The langeleik, 
or Norwegian harp, is a long, narrow, box-like 
stringed instrument, something of the char¬ 
acter of the ancient zither. It has seven 
strings and sound holes, but its tone is weak 
and monotonous. 

The national dances of Norway have bold 
rhythms which at once arrest the attention. 
Perhaps the most characteristic is the hailing, 
a solo dance in two-fourth time. It is usually 
danced by young men in country barns and its 
most striking feature is the kicking of the 
beam of the ceiling. In the story of Nils the 
fiddler in his novel Arne , Bjornson has given 
this account of the hailing: “ The music struck 
up, a deep silence followed, and he began. He 
dashed forward along the floor, his body in¬ 
clining to one side, half aslant, keeping time 



282 


In Viking Land 


to the fiddle. Crouching down he balanced 
himself, now on one foot, now on the other, 
flung his legs crosswise under him, sprang up 
again, and then moved on aslant as before. 
The fiddle was handled by skilful fingers and 
more and more fire was thrown into the tune. 
Nils threw his head back and suddenly his 
boot heel touched the beam.” 

The spring dance is less vigorous but more 
graceful than the hailing. It is a round dance 
in three-quarter time in which two persons, or 
groups of two, participate. It is danced with 
a light springing step and has been compared 
with the mazurka by Liszt. Like the hailing, 
however, it is markedly individual in its pleas¬ 
ing combinations of tones. Forestier says of 
the spring dance of Norway: “ There is a 
freshness, a sparkle, an energy, a graceful life 
about it that is invigorating.’ 7 

If Lindeman was the first to collect folk¬ 
songs and dances in Norway, Ole Bull (1810- 
1880) was the first to popularize them. He 
was, as Grieg once declared, a pathbreaker for 
the young national music. At the early age 
of nineteen he sallied forth with his fiddle, and 
wherever he appeared in Europe and America 
he played the folk-music and national dances of 



Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 283 


Norway. The favour which he found encour¬ 
aged his countrymen. His brilliant career 
glorified musical Norway; gave it confidence to 
assert itself, and served as the inspiration of 
a long list of creative tone artists -— Kjerulf, 
Nordraak, Grieg, Svendsen, Winter-Hjelm, 
Sinding, and Behrens — to write out and ar¬ 
range for voice and modern instruments the 
music that had so long been preserved in the 
memories of the people. 

The best art-music of Norway has been built 
upon the folk-songs and dances of the common 
people. Halfdan Kjerulf (1815-1868) was the 
first serious composer of the new art school. 
He lived during the trying period of Nor¬ 
wegian storm and stress, but he wrote some¬ 
thing like a hundred compositions, and in his 
songs is found “ the bud of national feeling 
which has burst into full bloom in Grieg.’’ 

Richard Nordraak (1842-1866), during his 
brief career, set music to several of Bjornson’s 
plays and composed some strong pianoforte 
pieces and songs. “ He was,” says Siewers, 
“ a man with a bold fresh way of looking at 
things, strong artistic interests, an untiring 
love of work, and deep national feeling. He 
had a decided influence upon his friend Grieg’s 





284 


In Viking Land 


artistic views, and he is the connecting link be¬ 
tween Kjerulf and Grieg in the chain of Nor¬ 
wegian musical art.’’ 

Otto Winter-Hjelm, who, with Grieg, at¬ 
tempted to establish a conservatory of music 
at Christiania after their return from Ger¬ 
many in the sixties, contributed much to the 
development of the national art of Norway by 
his excellent arrangements of ballings and 
spring dances for piano and violin. Thomas 
Thellefsen (1823-1874), a pupil and friend of 
Chopin, was distinguished as a national com¬ 
poser as well as a pianist, and Karl F. E. Neu- 
pert (1842-1888), who lived in America six 
years, did much by his concert tours and teach¬ 
ing to dignify Norse music. 

Johan Severin Svendsen, while a Norwegian 
by birth and training, has expatriated himself 
by his long residence in Denmark. So far as 
his compositions have national flavour they are 
German. Johan Selmer, while a prolific com¬ 
poser, will probably be best remembered as a 
conductor. Christian Sinding, after Grieg, is 
the best known Norwegian composer. His pro¬ 
ductions range from symphonies and sym¬ 
phonic poems through chamber music to 
romances. He is credited with a wide range 






EDVARD GRIEG. CHRISTIAN SINDINf 






























































Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 285 


of musical ideas, deep artistic earnestness, and 
bold power of expression; but bis composi¬ 
tions in the larger forms are thought unduly 
noisy and restless. 

Two women who have helped to make the 
music history of Norway are Agatha Backer- 
Grondahl and Catharinus Elling. Mrs. Backer- 
Grondalil was a pupil, first of Kjerulf and 
Winter-Hjelm, and later of Kullak, Hans von 
Biilow, and Liszt. Many of her songs and in¬ 
strumental pieces display fine artistic feeling 
and musical scholarship of no mean order. 
Catharinus Elling has ventured into the larger 
fields of music-forms and has produced operas, 
symphonies, and oratorios, as well as chamber 
music and songs. Her music drama “ The 
Cossacks ” is her most ambitious work. 

Says Henry T. Finck, an able American 
music critic: “ When I had revelled in the 
music of Chopin and Wagner, Liszt and Franz, 
to the point of intoxication, I fancied that the 
last word had been said in harmony and 
melody; when lo! I came across the songs and 
piano pieces of Grieg, and once more found 
myself moved to tears of delight. ’ ’ 1 Edvard 

1 For an excellent account of Grieg’s art, see Mr. Finck’a 
interesting little book: Edvard Grieg. London, 1906. pp. 130. 




286 


In Viking Land 


Grieg (1843-1907) undoubtedly occupies the 
foremost place among Norwegian composers. 
He is the highest representative of the Norse 
element in music, “ the great beating heart of 
Norwegian musical art.” 

On the paternal side Grieg is of Scotch an¬ 
cestry, his grandfather having fled from the 
Highlands to Bergen after the unequal strug¬ 
gle between the English and Charles Edward 
Stuart, the Pretender. The lad’s musical gifts, 
however, seem directly attributable to his 
gifted Norwegian mother. She was a musician 
of some distinction and she gave Edvard his 
first piano lessons at the early age of six years. 
More important than these early lessons, re¬ 
marks Mr. Finch, 4 4 was the musical atmos¬ 
phere he was enabled to breathe at home. A 
boy who is destined to become a great genius 
can easily teach himself, but nothing can atone 
for the lack of that musical nutriment in child¬ 
hood and youth which builds the very tissues 
of that part of the brain which is set aside for 
musical impressions. Mrs. Grieg not only 
played a great deal en famille, but once a week 
she invited those of her friends who were fond 
of the art to a musical soiree. On such occa¬ 
sions the place of honour was usually given to 






MRS. BACKER - GRONDAHL. 
















Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 287 


Mozart and Weber, from whose operas selec¬ 
tions were performed, the hostess playing the 
orchestral parts on the pianoforte, and on 
occasions also assuming a vocal role to com¬ 
plete the cast. In a corner of the room sat a 
happy boy listening to this music.’’ 

As a result of the solicitations of Ole Bull, 
who was the first to recognize the lad’s excep¬ 
tional promise, Grieg’s parents were induced 
to send him to Germany for further study. He 
entered the conservatory at Leipzig at the age 
of fifteen; studied the pianoforte under Mos- 
chels and Wenzel, and counterpoint, compo¬ 
sition, and instrumentation under Hauptmann, 
Richter, and Reinecke. In 1863 he located at 
Copenhagen where he studied for a time with 
Gade; and four years later he began his musi¬ 
cal career in Norway, first as a teacher and 
concert artist, and from 1871 to 1877 with 
Svendsen as director of the musical union at 
Christiania. He was awarded a small life an¬ 
nuity by the Norwegian government in 1874, 
and in 1877 he retired to his home at Bergen 
where he devoted the last thirty years of his 
life to composition. 1 

1 See an interesting article by Grieg, “ My First Success,” in 
the Westminster Review for July, 1905, Vol. 88, pp. 36-52. 




288 


In Viking Land 


As a creative tone artist Grieg was many 
sided; he wrote imperishable songs, splendid 
piano pieces, and strong and stirring orchestral 
numbers; but the aspect of his work which has 
won largest appreciation for his art at home 
and abroad is the distinctly individual and 
national character of his music. Professor 
Wergeland remarks in this connection: “ Of 
all the Norwegian composers of national music, 
none has touched as Grieg has, the spring of 
the idiomatically national. The mountain 
fairy, of whom Norwegian folk-lore tells; the 
mysterious spirit of the voices of the forest and 
the silence of the glen; the golden-haired and 
blue-eyed maiden, muse of the peasants and in- 
spirer of their lays, she who appears in the 
solitude and plays the lur and the langeleik, 
of whom the poets have sung eloquently but 
abstractly, — she revealed herself at last in her 
eerie power, when Grieg took these ‘ boorish ’ 
tunes and lent them a voice that could reach 
further than the first vibration and whispering 
of her fantastic zither. Thus Norwegian peas¬ 
ant music has reached a development which it 
could not otherwise get, has become what it is 
now — bizarre, often morbid, sometimes bois¬ 
terously gay, full of wild grace, taunting and 



Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 289 


jeering, yet plaintive and brooding, always 
singularly forceful and brilliant. Norwegians 
did not realize wbat possibilities were in them 
or their songs until Grieg put his hand to the 
elaboration of these tunes.’’ 

Some German critics have pointed out that 
the element of nationalism is too pronounced 
in Grieg’s music, meaning of course that the 
Norse rather than the German element has 
been made prominent. They assert that he has 
seized upon the narrow field of folk-song and 
dance as a convenient vehicle for personal 
peculiarities and that he speaks in a dialect 
rather than in the universal language of music. 
It must be admitted that Grieg’s art represents 
a healthy reaction against foreign influence in 
Norway and that his music “ smacks of the 
soil.” In his elaboration of primitive harmo¬ 
nies, his artistic treatment of national melodies 
and dance rhythms, and their uses as motives in 
great and enduring musical structures, Grieg 
has dared offend the taste of a class of critics 
who maintain that real music must never strike 
the personal or national note but must be the 
vague and indefinite expression of generalities, 
what Carlyle once characterized as “ atten¬ 
uated cosmopolitanism.” 




290 


In Viking Land 

In reply to tlie German critics, Professor 
Wergeland 1 very properly says: “ Music, as 
the fluctuating expression of man’s moods, can 
hardly he restricted to any formula or domain 
of utterance. This would he to deprive it of 
its greatest virtue, that of being responsive 
and sympathetic to all phases of life, to all 
shades of sentiment. In the end, does not onr 
choice depend upon onr individual disposition, 
and does not all music begin, in its expression 
as well as in its appreciation, with the indi¬ 
vidual? If the artist pictures the elusive things 
we call life, with its thousand mirages, or the 
majestic mountain top, where the cool blue 
visions tell of immovable heights, even more 
sublime, who shall say which is the more 
perfect? ” 

Henry T. Finck remarks in the same con¬ 
nection: “ When a German fancies that his 
country owns the world-language of music, one 
may pardon him, for national vanity is a uni¬ 
versal folly; but when one who is not a German 
parrots this nonsense about ‘ dialects,’ it is 
time to protest. Dialect signifies a provincial 
mode of speaking a language. "What is Nor- 

1 See his article “ Grieg as a National Composer,” in the 
North American Review, for September. 1902, Vol. 175, pp. 
370-377. 





Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 291 


way a province of, musically or otherwise? ” 
Certainly not of Germany. 

Grieg’s genere pieces represent tlie pearls of 
his compositions. The arrangements of folk¬ 
songs and dances for the piano in “ Pictures 
of Popular Life ” (opus 19) are characterized 
by consummate lyric skill; and Ole Bull once 
declared that they were the finest representa¬ 
tions of Norse life that had been attempted. 
Grieg wrote one hundred and twenty-five songs, 
most of which take high rank. Finck is of the 
opinion that fewer fall below par than in the 
list of any other song writer. He adds: 44 I 
myself believe that Grieg in some of his songs 
equals Schubert at his best; indeed, I think 
he should and will be ranked ultimately as 
second to Schubert only; but it is in his later 
works that he rises to such heights, not in the 
earliest ones, in which he was still a little 
afraid to rely on his own wings.” 

When it is recalled that Grieg was a pianist 
of exceptional merit, the large place occupied 
by pianoforte pieces — twenty-eight of the 
seventy-three opus numbers — is easily under¬ 
stood. Grieg’s piano compositions, like those 
of Edward MacDowell, are brief, but they are 
veritable musical gems. The Jumbo idea in 




292 


In Viking Land 


music still lingers with minor professionals. 
They shrng their shoulders, remarks Finck, 
and exclaim: “ Yes, that humming bird is very 
beautiful, but of course it cannot be ranked 
as high as an ostrich. Don’t you see how 
small it is? ” 

Grieg composed nine works for the orches¬ 
tra; and here, as in lyric art-songs and piano¬ 
forte pieces, he reveals himself as a consum¬ 
mate master in painting delicate yet glowing 
colours. The music which he set to Ibsen’s 
“ Peer Gynt ” brought him the largest meas¬ 
ure of fame as an orchestral composer. Indeed, 
it was more cordially received than the drama, 
as is indicated by this criticism by Hanslick: 
“ Perhaps in a few years Ibsen’s 1 Peer Gynt ’ 
will live only through Grieg’s music, which, to 
my taste, has more poetry and artistic intelli¬ 
gence in every number than the whole five-act 
monstrosity of Ibsen.” Among other notable 
orchestral and chamber music numbers may 
be mentioned a setting of Bjornson’s “ Sigurd 
the Crusader,” “ Bergliot,” based upon the 
sagas of the Norse kings, a suite composed for 
the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of 
Ludwig Holberg, and a number of choice cham¬ 
ber music pieces. 



Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 293 


In closing, it may be remarked that Edvard 
Grieg has not only given Norway a conspicu¬ 
ous place on the map of musical Europe, but 
that he has influenced unmistakably composers 
of the rank of Tscliaikowsky, the Eussian 
Paderewski, the Pole, Eugene d’Albert, the 
Scotch-English-German, Eichard Strauss, the 
German, and our own lamented Edward Mac- 
Dowell, the American, the sense of whose loss 
is still so fresh upon us. “ From every point 
of view that interests the music lover,” says 
Mr. Finck, “ Grieg is one of the most original 
geniuses in the musical world of the present 
or past. His songs are a mine of melody, sur¬ 
passed in wealth only by Schubert’s, and that 
only because there are more of Schubert’s. In 
originality of harmony and modulation he has 
only six equals: Bach, Schubert, Chopin, Schu¬ 
mann, Wagner, and Liszt. In rhythmic inven¬ 
tion and combination he is inexhaustible, and 
as orchestrator he ranks among the most fas¬ 
cinating. To speak of such a man — seven- 
eighths of whose works are still music of the 
future — as a writer of ‘ dialect,’ is surely the 
acme of unintelligence. If Grieg did stick to 
the fjord and never get out of it, even a Ger¬ 
man ought to thank heaven for it. Grieg in 



294 


In Viking Land 


a fjord is much more picturesque and more in¬ 
teresting to the world than he would have been 
in the Elbe or the Spree. ” 

While Norway has neither permanent opera 
nor permanent orchestras, she has produced 
concert virtuosi of a high order. Ole Bull, the 
so-called violin-king, already referred to, was 
unsurpassed in his day. Among jDiano artists 
may be named the talented composer Mrs. Ag¬ 
atha Backer-Grondahl, Thomas Thellefsen, Ed¬ 
mund Neupert, Martin Knutzen, and the great 
composer Edvard Grieg. The flutist Olaf 
Svenssen and the vocal artists Thorvald Lam- 
mers, Ingeborg Oselio-Bjornson, and Ellen 
Gulbranson have also brought distinction to 
their country. 

The male choirs of Norway have always 
played a leading role in the music life of the 
nation. The students’, merchants’, and art¬ 
ists’ singing clubs at Christiania during the 
past seventy-five years have had artistic as 
well as patriotic aims. Music festivals, after 
the pattern of those held at Cincinnati, and 
Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts, 
have also contributed toward the development 
of national music art. The most eminent cho¬ 
ral leaders in Norway have been Johan D. 




Folk-music and Edvard Grieg 295 


Behrens, F. A. Reissiger, and 0. A. Grondahl. 

The Norwegian Musical Union, already re¬ 
ferred to in connection with the discussion of 
the art of Edvard Grieg, has been active in the 
development of tonal ideals. Its aim has been 
to provide chamber concerts of a high order. 
Grieg and Svendsen were its first conductors. 
They were succeeded by Ole Olsen, who com¬ 
bined the talents of orchestral leader with 
those of composer, chorister, and band-leader. 
For many years he directed the Second Bri¬ 
gade Band at Christiania with the rank of cap¬ 
tain. Johan Selmer, also a composer, suc¬ 
ceeded Olsen in the direction of the Musical 
Union; and Iver Holter, a composer of sym¬ 
phonies, orchestral suites, chamber-music and 
vocal scores, followed Selmer. Other orches¬ 
tral leaders are Johan Hennum, Per Winge, 
and Johan Halvorsen. 




CHAPTER XX 


PAINTING, SCULPTURE, AND ARCHITECTURE 


Recent development of national art-eonsciousness — First gen¬ 
eration of painters influenced by Denmark and Germany — 
Dahl, Fearnley, Baade, and Frieh — The second period in the 
history of Norwegian painting and the influence of the 
Diisseldorf school — National themes — Contemporary ar¬ 
tists— Otto Sinding, Heyerdahl, Thaulow, and Werenskiold 

— The younger painters — Sculpture allied with woodwork 

— Stephen Sinding and Skeibrok — Development of archi¬ 
tecture — Timber buildings — The cathedrals — Old churches 
at Borgund, Vik, and Reinlid — Domestic architecture. 


In art as in so many other departments of 
thought, it was not until Norway was separated 
from Denmark that the national consciousness 
was aroused. And for many years following 
the union with Sweden her artists and art stu¬ 
dents got altogether too much of their inspira¬ 
tion in France and Germany to make possible 
the development of a distinctly national school. 
Indeed, Norwegian artists have yet to learn 
that Gamle Norge, with its endless physio¬ 
graphic and human types, is infinitely richer 
in inspiration and subjects than the older art 
countries of Europe. 


296 


Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 297 


The first generation of Norwegian artists in¬ 
cludes Dahl, Fearnley, Baade, Frich, and Gor- 
bitz. Most of them received their art training 
at Copenhagen, and they were accordingly 
keenly influenced by the pronounced romantic 
landscape movement then in vogue in Denmark 
and Germany. Johan Christian Dahl (1788- 

1857) , the bell-wether of the flock, was an artist 
of lively and positive temperament, but his 
thoroughly cheerful and healthy nature spared 
him from the exaggerations of the decadent 
romantic traditions. He was a professor in 
the art academy at Dresden for many years, 
but he made frequent home visits, and he has 
left some splendid scenic descriptions of west¬ 
ern Norway, among which may be mentioned 
44 The View from Stedje,” 44 The Jostedal 
Glacier/’ and 44 The Birch in a Storm.” 

Thomas Fearnley (1802-1842), a pupil of 
Dahl, consecrated his energies to decorative 
idealistic landscapes in Italy, Switzerland, and 
Norway. His most effective Norwegian sub¬ 
ject is 44 Labrofos,” a fine waterfall in Tele- 
marken. Knud Baade (1808-1879), another 
pupil of Dahl, also lived abroad. His specialty 
was moonlight pictures. J. C. G. Frich (1810- 

1858) , another of DahFs students, was the first 



298 


In Viking Land 


of the early painters to reside in Norway. The 
Norwegian scenes in the dining-room at Oscars- 
hall, Christiania, are among his best examples 
of decorative landscape. Johan Gorbitz (1782- 
1852) won distinction as a portrait painter, but 
he spent most of his life abroad. 

The second period in the history of Nor¬ 
wegian painting is associated with the Diissel- 
dorf school and a marked tendency toward the 
choice of realistic subjects. But the Diissel- 
dorf school soon degenerated into sentimen¬ 
tality and superficial humour. In its healthier 
days,” remarks Jens Tliiis, “ the school had 
dived into the world of reality to replenish its 
stock of subjects, but not nearly deep enough 
to result in historical paintings or representa¬ 
tions of country life in which the figures moved 
freely and naturally.” 

Adolph Tidemand (1814-1876) represents the 
high-water mark of the Diisseldorf school. His 
genere pictures and representations of peas¬ 
ant life — characteristic ethnic types, costumes 
and dwellings from different parts of the coun¬ 
try — gave an altogether wholesome impetus to 
the native art of Norway. His painting of the 
dissenting Haugianere holding religious service 
in the cottage of a peasant, “ The Bridal Party 




Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 299 


in Hardanger,” “ The Fanatics,” “ The Soli¬ 
tary Couple/ ’ and the ten decorative paintings 
at Oscar shall indicate his familiarity with the 
life of the common people. Tidemand had 
large interests and broad sympathies, and he 
influenced profoundly not only Norwegian 
painting, but also poetry, music, and the other 
culture currents of his day. 

The deep fjords and the bare mountains of 
western Norway had a sympathetic interpreter 
in Hans Gude, whose “ Norwegian Land¬ 
scape/’ “ Mountain View,” and “Christiania 
Fjord ” in the national gallery at Christiania, 
represent him at his best. Herman August 
Cappelen (1827-1852) had more decided lyric 
qualities than his predecessors and contempo¬ 
raries. His 4 4 Dying-Out of the Primeval 
Forest ” is the most emphatically romantic pic¬ 
ture in Norwegian art; and his two Telemarken 
paintings in the national gallery — the forest 
scene and the waterfall — indicate an intimate 
acquaintance with nature. The first thorough¬ 
going realist among Norwegian painters was 
Johan Frederik Eckerberg (1822-1870), whose 
“ Saetersdal ” and “ Mountain Scenery ” are 
treasured at Christiania. Other painters be¬ 
longing to the same period are Morten Muller, 




300 


In Viking Land 


who painted Norwegian pine-woods and coast 
scenes; Erik Bodom (1829-1879), whose spe¬ 
cialty was deep, silent mountain tarns; Sigyald 
Dahl, an animal and portrait painter, and 
Franz Boe (1820-1891), a painter of fruit, 
flowers, and still life. 

Scandinavian mythology found its first na¬ 
tive exponent in Peter Nicolai Arbo (1831- 
1892), who came under the influence of French 
art. Ludwig Munthe (1841-1896) was also in¬ 
fluenced by the current French school. Two 
of his best paintings are in the national gallery 
at Christiania — 4 ‘ Winter off the Norwegian 
Coast ’ ’ and ‘ ‘ Autumn Evening.” Of a higher 
order of merit are the landscape paintings of 
Amaldus Nielsen, whose “ Evening on the 
Hvaler islands ” and “ The Hardanger 
Fjord ” are in the national gallery. Several 
of Nielsen’s portraits are capitally done, that 
of Edvard Grieg, the composer, in the national 
gallery, possessing exceptional merit. 

The contemporary artists of Norway who 
have achieved more than national distinction — 
Sinding, Heyerdahl, Peterssen, Werenskiold, 
Krohg, Thaulow, and Gerhard Munthe — have 
come under the influence of the French open- 
air and the Munich schools. Otto Sinding, of 




Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 301 

e ""'' * '■ - .' '■ ' — .= a: 

the versatile family that has also produced a 
great composer and a great sculptor, has given 
evidence of widest range of pictorial talents. 
He has been eminently successful with genre 
and marine pieces, historical scenes, land¬ 
scapes, and scenes from the life of the peasants 
in Finmark and the arctic regions. His ■ ‘ Win¬ 
ter Scene in the Lofoten islands ” in the na¬ 
tional gallery is one of his best landscape paint¬ 
ings. 

Peterssen and Heyerdahl belong to the re¬ 
form movement in art associated with impres¬ 
sionism. The work of Elif Peterssen has been 
distinguished by the perfection of its compo¬ 
sition, the excellence of its colour, and the sub¬ 
tlety of its psychological character. The 
scenery in his large “ Nocturne,” one of his 
best works, is taken from the neighbourhood of 
Christiania. He also has an excellent portrait 
of Edvard Grieg. The talent of Hans Heyer¬ 
dahl is of the more sensuous sort — a voluptu¬ 
ous enjoyment of beauty, a love of delicate 
form, and an intoxication in the sweetness of 
colour. “ The Two Sisters,” in the gallery at 
Christiania, probably represents him at his 
best. 

In the contest for naturalism in art during 




302 


In Viking Land 


the early eighties, Werenskiold and Krohg 
formulated the programme of the new tendency 
and planned the strategic tactics for Norway. 
Erik Werenskiold, whose portraits of Ibsen, 
Nansen, and Bjornson are so well known, has 
contributed two notable genre paintings to the 
national gallery at Christiania — 11 Funeral of 
a Peasant ” and “ Peasant Girls in Telemar- 
ken.” Christian Krohg, to whom impression¬ 
ism has been “ not merely a new view of art, 
but a new artistic form resting on new social, 
ethical, and religious theories,’’ has attained 
highest artistic perfection in his representa¬ 
tions of scenes in Skagen. 

After his return from France Fritz Thaulow 
founded an open-air art school at Modum, where 
he succeeded in gathering about him a consid¬ 
erable number of promising young landscape 
painters. Jens Tliiis says of him: “ Enthusi¬ 
astic and amiable, rich and independent, active 
and handsome, full of good humour and bold 
confidence, he was the central figure in the 
young generation of artists.” Three of his best 
paintings — “ Haugfos,” “ The Road in Kra- 
gero,” and “ A Winter’s Day ” — are in the 
national gallery at Christiania, and one excel¬ 
lent piece — 44 The Wet Day” — is in a pri- 





Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 303 


vate collection in America. The leading char¬ 
acteristics of Thaulow’s paintings are frank¬ 
ness of individuality, freshness of outlook, 
healthy naturalism, and love of bright colours. 
His mastery of technique is something wonder¬ 
ful, but he is altogether too sincere an artist 
to let mere technical accomplishments allure 
him into ostentations. 

The highly imaginative Gerhard Munthe, 
whose youthful grotesque polychrome fairy 
scenes in the hotel at Holmenkollen proclaimed 
him as something of a freak, has done more 
solid work as he has matured. In the matter 
of representations of peasant life and the illus¬ 
tration of fairy tales he has been something of 
a missionary. Among other Norwegians who 
have rallied round the banner of naturalism 
are Christian Skredsvig, Nicolai Ulfsten, Jacob 
Gloersen, and Harriet Baeker. 

Among the younger Norwegian artists of 
promise may be mentioned Gustav Wentzel, 
whose “ Midday Meal,” “ Peasants Dancing,” 
and snow scenes are masterpieces of colouring; 
Eyolf Soot, also a great colourist, whose por¬ 
trait of Bjornson is well known; Svend Jor¬ 
gensen, the artist of the simple feelings of sim¬ 
ple people, Halfdan Storm, Edvard Munch, 



304 


In Viking Land 


Thorolf Holmboe, and a dozen other young 
painters who constitute the bow of promise of 
Norway’s future art history. 

Sculpture in Norway is so closely allied with 
wood-work and the industrial arts that it is not 
easy to dissociate them from the higher forms 
of plastic art. Wood carving is probably the 
oldest of the fine arts in Norway and it was the 
starting point in the development of sculpture. 
As early as the eighth century — as is apparent 
from the recently discovered viking ship at 
Oseberg — the Norwegians had attained a rela¬ 
tively high degree of skill in wood carving and 
the ornamentation of boats and wooden house¬ 
hold utensils. While the ornamental treatment 
of wood forms a good starting point for fur¬ 
ther artistic training in the plastic arts, it has 
doubtless been a drawback in the highest fields 
of sculpture. Dietrichson has called attention 
to the fact that it takes a long time for artists 
trained in wood-carving to shake off tradition 
and turn from the ornamental, which is their 
strong point, to the free representation of the 
human figure, which is the chief domain of 
sculpture. 

Magnus Elisen Berg (1666-1739), while more 
of a carver in ivory than a sculptor, influenced 



Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 305 


profoundly the early history of plastic art in 
Norway. Hans Michelsen (1789-1859), whose 
twelve apostles are in the cathedral at Trond- 
hjem, represents the highest development in 
sculpture during the first generation of the 
last century. Borch, Middlethun, Hausen, and 
Glosimodt belong to the second generation, 
and Budal, Brynjulf, Bergslein, Fladager, and 
Jacobsen to the third generation, but few of 
the works of these sculptors are of exceptional 
merit. 

The two most conspicuous Norwegian sculp¬ 
tors are Stephen Sinding and Matthias Skei- 
brok. Two of Sinding’s best pieces are the 
statues of Ibsen and Bjornson in front of the 
national theatre at Christiania, and Skeibrok’s 
best work is the group for the tympanum of the 
fagade of the university at Christiania. His 
“ Mother Waking ” in the national gallery is 
much praised for its classical purity. Axel 
Ender, whose painting representing the women 
at the sepulchre in the church at Molde, is also 
a sculptor of note. His statue of Tordenskjold, 
the great Norwegian naval commander, adorns 
one of the public squares in Christiania. 

The development of architecture in Norway 




306 


In Viking Land 


is associated with the construction of timber 
buildings. The heathen temples were built of 
wood and were richly ornamented. Most of 
them were burned or altered to meet the needs 
of Christian worship during the tenth and 
eleventh centuries. Some of the earliest ex¬ 
isting Christian churches, dating from the 
eleventh century, are built of rough-hewn stone, 
with narrow sanctuaries but without side aisles. 
The Norman-Eomanesque architecture, which 
had developed in northern France and England, 
furnished the models for the earliest cathedrals 
built at Trondhjem, Stavanger, and Hamar. 
An account of the vicissitudes of the national 
cathedral at Trondhjem has been given in a 
previous chapter. The cathedral at Stavanger 
was built toward the close of the eleventh cen¬ 
tury, but was burned a hundred years later and 
was rebuilt in the Gothic style. It was sadly 
disfigured during the Lutheran reformation, 
but has recently been restored. The ruined 
cathedral at Hamar dates from the twelfth 
centurv. 

4 / 

Besides the early stone churches of the larger 
towns, in the smaller places houses of worship 
were built of wood. These were in the Eoman- 





THE REINLID CHURCH 








Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 307 


esque style of architecture, both as regards the 
general form and the ornamental embellish¬ 
ments. An account of the old timber church at 
Borgund has already been given. There is also 
a fine thirteenth century timber church at Rein¬ 
lid near Fjeldheim in Valders. The old church 
at Vik on the Sogne fjord, which has been re¬ 
stored, is an example of an ancient temple. 
The church at Hitterdal is the largest of the 
existing twenty-four mediaeval timber churches. 

The early domestic architecture of Norway 
is extremely interesting. A number of timber 
houses, which date from the thirteenth century, 
are still in excellent state of preservation. Sev¬ 
eral fine old houses have been transferred from 
Numedal, Gudbransdal, and Telemarken to the 
grounds of the national museum at Bygdo near 
Christiania. The Finneloft at Yossvangen has 
already been referred to. Most of the early 
timber houses contain one large room and two 
smaller ones. Both inside and outside the mas¬ 
sive timbers of the walls are visible, with their 
cross-joints at the corners, the roofs jutting far 
out over the gables. “ These one-story dwell¬ 
ing houses/’ remarks Johan Meyer, 11 with 
their low, verdant turf-roof above the nut- 




308 In Viking Land 

brown walls, are often remarked for their good 
proportions; and the comparatively highly 
decorated verandas heighten the picturesque 
effect.” 


THE END. 





MftPI.EVAL NORSE DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE 

























APPENDIXES 


I. SUGGESTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS 

The appended list of books on Norway will 
suggest to the traveller some of the more gen¬ 
eral sources of information. There are in 
English three well-known guide-books on Nor¬ 
way — the Baedeker, the Cook, and the Ben¬ 
nett. The first-named is unquestionably the 
best. Its information is more complete and 
more to the point than either of the others. 

Chapter X gives detailed information con¬ 
cerning methods of travel so that little more 
need be said. The conditions there pointed 
out, however, make it almost necessary for the 
hurried traveller to arrange with one of the 
tourist bureaus for his carriages and boats; 
and even the travellers who make the tour of 
the country with comparative leisure will lessen 
the chances of discomfort by securing the co¬ 
operation of such an agency. Thomas Ben¬ 
nett & Sons, with offices at Christiania, Bergen, 

309 


310 


Appendixes 


Trondhjem, and Stavanger, have operated in 
the country for more than half a century. I 
have taken their tours and I have talked with 
many travellers who have planned and exe¬ 
cuted their trips with the aid of the Bennetts; 
and I have heard only words of the highest 
commendation for the excellence and the reli¬ 
ability of their service. 

As noted in the first chapter, the summer 
season in Norway is very brief. It is limited 
to six weeks, or at best to two months if the 
North Cape is the objective point. But even 
during the summer the weather may be uncom¬ 
fortably cool (as it may sometimes be uncom¬ 
fortably warm), and the traveller should pro¬ 
vide himself with warm wraps. The fogs and 
rains sometimes seriously interfere with the 
comfort of travel north of Trondhjem; but, 
barring dust, mosquitoes, and occasional rains, 
overland travel in the central and southern 
parts of the country is usually attended with 
comfort during July and August. 

There are, of course, winter sports and 
amusements in Norway during the long and 
cold winter months, as pointed out in Chapter 
XVII; but these diversions are limited to re¬ 
stricted areas. Moreover, inland travel — the 




Appendixes 


311 


sections covered by the interesting and pic¬ 
turesque mountain valleys — is not feasible 
during tlie winter. 

Norway is not suitable for walking tours. 
The distances are too great and the points of 
interest too far apart. On tlie other hand, 
cyclists who do not object to pushing their 
machines a part of the time, will find that 
method of travel both pleasurable and inex¬ 
pensive. Cyclists who take their wheels with 
them may escape the annoying customs regula¬ 
tions by taking membership in the English 
Cyclists ’ Touring Club or the Touring Club 
de France. The public highways, as already 
noted, are excellent, and the wayside inns, 
while very primitive,- are comfortable, and if 
one can adapt himself to a fish diet, the food 
will be found satisfactory. 

Couriers are not necessary; for, even in the 
less-travelled sections of the country, English- 
speaking Norwegians may be found. The peo¬ 
ple are quick in the acquisition of foreign lan¬ 
guages and many Norwegians who ha^e lived 
for years in America, and thus acquired our 
speech, have returned to the fatherland. If, 
however, couriers are desired, they may be se¬ 
cured through the tourist agencies. 




312 


Appendixes 


The monetary system of Norway is the same 
as in Denmark and Sweden. The krone, worth 
from twenty-seven to twenty-eight cents of 
American money, is the unit, and this is divided 
into one hundred ore. The universal honesty 
of the people, however, minimizes this difficulty 
in travel. Telegraph and telephone offices are 
found everywhere, even in the remote and 
sparsely settled rural sections of the country. 

Railway fares in Norway are about the same 
as in the other countries of Europe. The serv¬ 
ice is very fair, but the speed is slow. Express 
trains rarely exceed twenty-five miles an hour 
and ordinary trains seldom reach twenty miles. 
Passengers are customarily permitted about 
sixty pounds of free checked-baggage. In the 
overland travel with the stollqaerre, however, 
one cannot take more than thirty or forty 
pounds. 

Sportsmen are required to have a govern¬ 
ment shooting license, which costs about, twenty- 
seven dollars; and for hunting reindeer, stags, 
and elk the license costs twice this amount. 
The best reindeer shooting is to be found in 
the Hallingdal, the Hardanger, the Romsdal, 
and Finmark. One must have the hunting li¬ 
cense not only for the forest lands and the gov- 




Appendixes 


313 


eminent reserves, but also to shoot on private 
property. There are excellent tront and sal¬ 
mon streams in Norway, but Englishmen have 
leased the best inland fishing waters. Some 
of the streams have been leased by the pro¬ 
prietors of hotels for the benefit of their guests. 
This is true of the Loen river, which has been 
leased by the proprietor of Hotel Alexandria 
at Loen on one of the branches of the Nord 
fjord. For information concerning close sea¬ 
sons, which vary in different parts of the coun¬ 
try, sportsmen should consult “ Norwegian 
Anglings and Sportings,” an annual publica¬ 
tion issued at 34 St. James Street, London, by 
J. A. Lumley & Co. 




II. BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Boyesen, Hjalmar H. The Story of Norvny. New York, 1887. 
pp. 556. 

A brief but excellent survey of Norwegian history. 

Caton, John Dean. A Summer in Norway. Chicago, 1875. 
pp. 401. 

Travel notes of a very general character. 

Chapman, Abel. Wild Norway. London, 1897. pp. 358. 

An excellent book from the viewpoint of the sportsman. 

Cooper, A. Heaton. The Norwegian Fjords. London, 1907. 
pp. 178. 

Paintings and descriptions by an English artist. Thoroughly 
interesting. 

Curtis, William Eleroy. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. 
Akron, Ohio, 1903. pp. 505. 

Very readable newspaper sketches. Pp. 56-259 devoted 
to Norway. 

DuChaillu, Paul B. The Land of the Midnight Sun. New 
York, 1882. 2 vols. 

Comprehensive descriptions of Norway and Lapland. 

Goodman, E. J. The Best Tour in Norway. London, 1892. pp. 
336. 

The author undertakes to outline a tour of three or four 
weeks. 

Hervey, Hetta M. Glimpses of Norseland. Boston (1889). 
pp. 242. 

A pleasant descriptive account of the west-coast fjords. 

Jungman, Nico. Norway. London (1905). pp. 199. 

The coloured illustrations are interesting, but the text is 
inconsequential. 

Keary, Charles Francis. Norway and the Norwegians. New 
York, 1902. pp. 402. 

A rather informing book. 

Norway: Official Publication for the Paris Exposition of 1900. 
Christiania, 1900. pp. 626. 

314 


Appendixes 


315 


Encyclopedic in scope and thoroughly reliable in its informa¬ 
tion. There are thirty-nine chapters, and each chapter has 
been prepared by a specialist. 

Stone, Olivia M. Norway in June. London, 1882. pp. 448. 

Diary of an observant English woman, especially valuable 
for the abundance of details of the manners and customs 
of the rural population. 

Taylor, Bayard. Northern Travel: Summer and Winter Pic¬ 
tures. New York, 1863. pp. 436. 

Contrary to his customary travel habits, Taylor was severely 
critical of the Norwegians and he found a lot of fault with 
them. 

Tyler, Katherine M. The Story of a Scandinavian Summer. 
New York, 1881. pp. 394. 

Travel notes of passing interest. 

Vincent, Frank. Norsk, Lapp, and Finn; or, Travel Tracings 
from the Far North of Europe. New York, 1881. pp. 263. 

Rather agreeable travel sketches. 

Wood, Charles M. Norwegian By-Ways. London, 1903. pp* 
384. 

Descriptions of the southern provinces of Norway. 

Wyllie, M. A. Norway and Its Fjords. London (1907). pp. 315. 

An account of the fjords with sixteen illustrations in colours. 






















INDEX 


♦ 


A 

Aalesund, 189. 

Aalsad, 201. 

Aas, 138. 

Aason, Ivar, 91, 145, 261. 
Accident insurance, 102. 
Agdenes, 81. 

Agricultural College, 138. 
Agriculture, 17, 163-177. 
Akershus, 178, 249. 

Akers river, 248. 
d’Albert, Eugene, 293. 
Albrecht, 54. 

Alfred the Great, 28. 

Algerian pirates, 241. 
Alexander III., King of Scot¬ 
land, 49, 50. 

Amboise, 21. 

Ambulatory schools, 132. 
America, 30, 36, 37, 64, 95, 303. 

See also United States. 
Americans, 88. 

Amn6us, G., quoted, 100. 

Anne of Denmark, 247. 
Anglo-Americans, 87. 
Anglo-Norman architecture, 
228 

Animals, 12-14, 106 
Anund, 29. 

Apples, 165. 

Arbitration courts, 103. 

Arbo, Peter Nicolai, 88, 300. 
Architecture, 228-232, 255, 

305-308. 


Arc'*, of Norway, 98. 
Aristophanes, 276. 

Army, 79-30. 

Art. Seo Painting and Sculp¬ 
ture. 

Art schools, 138. 

Aryan race, 87. 

Asbjornsen, P. C., 147, 250. 
Asgard, 117. 

Asiatic cholera, 97. 

Athanasian creed, 125. 
Athelstan, King of England, 
31. 

Audhumbla, 116. 

Auk. 14. 

Aun, 29. 

Aurora borealis, 10, 106-107, 
118, 161, 256. 

B 

Baade, Knud, 297. 
Backer-Grondahl, Agatha, 285, 
294. 

Backer, Harriet, 303. 

Badstue, 167. 

Bsegna river, 214, 215. 

Baltic provinces, 35. 

Baltic sea, 4, 21. 

Bandak lake, 159. 

Banks, 85-86. 

Baptists, 116. 

Bailey, 164, 188. 

Bathing, 169. 

Bears, 12. 

317 




318 


Index 


Beauvois, 21. 

Bede psalm book, 129. 

Begging, 95. 

Behrens, Johan D., 294. 

Belgium, 189. 

Bennett, Thomas, and Sons, 
309. 

Berg, Magnus Elisen, 304. 

Bergen, summer light, 10; 
rainfall, 11; parliament, 
45; county, 77; courts, 79; 
fortress, 81; population, 
100; technical schools, 137; 
libraries, 139; newspapers, 
140; railways, 156; steam¬ 
boats, 158; fisheries, 183; 
industries, 186; commerce, 
189; first bishop, 227; lo¬ 
cation, 234; foundation, 235; 
Haakon’s Hall, 236; Han¬ 
seatic league, 237; treaty 
with Lubeck, 238; fires, 241; 
commerce, 242; industrial 
arts, 243; municipal admin¬ 
istration, 244; art gallery, 
245; hospitals, 246; birth¬ 
place of Edvard Grieg, 286; 
tourist bureau, 309 

Bergslien, Brynjulf, 250, 305. 

Bernadotte. See Charles XIV. 
John. 

Bible, 263. 

Bibliography, 314-315. 

Bilberry, 15. 

Birch trees, 179. 

Birchlegs, 46, 236. 

Birds, 13-14. 

Birth-rate, 99. 

Bishops, 127, 226. 

Bjorne fjord, 193. 

Bjornson, Bjornstjerne, con¬ 
nection with newspapers, 
140, 143; literary influence, 
149; account of a saeter, 170; 
sketch, 265; novels, 266; 
personality, 267; “Arne/’ 
281; “ Sigurd the Crusa¬ 


der,” 292; portrait by We- 
renskiold, 302; by Soot, 303; 
statue by Sinding, 305; 
quoted, 89, 91, 203, 265. 
Blaaflaten, 212. 

Blackbirds, 13. 

“ Black Death,” 52, 230. 
Blaeberry, 15. 

Blue bells, 15. 

Boats, 157, 184. 

Bodo, 10. 

Bodom, Erik, 300. 

Boe, Anna, 140. 

Boe, Franz, 300. 

Bondhusbrae, 6. 

Borgund church, 212-213, 
307. 

Boyesen, Hjalmar H., quoted, 
21, 39, 48, 56, 160; bibliog¬ 
raphy, 314. 

Bragi, 122. 

“ Brand ” by Ibsen, 270. 
Bredvik, 207. 

Brekespere, Nicholas, 227. 
Bremen, 226. 

British Isles, 223. See also 
England and Great Bri¬ 
tain. 

Brinchmann, Chr., 262, 264, 
274. 

Bronchial catarrh, 97. 

Bronze age, 17. 

Brude Slur, 200. 

Bruce, Isabella, 50, 51. 

Bruce, Robert, 50. 

Bruun, 261. 

Bukn fjord, 8. 

Bull, Ole, 244, 282, 294, 
von Billow, Hans, 285. 

Burbrae, 6. 

Bureaucratic party, 142 
Burial customs, 23-24. 

Burke, Edmund, 217. 

Butter, 170, 188. 

Bygdo, 255, 307. 

Bygland, 157. 

Byglands fjord, 206. 





Index 


319 


c 

Cabinet officers, 76. 

Canals, 159-160. 

Canons, 6. 

Canterbury, 228. 

Cape Cod, 37. 

Capital punishment, 77. 

Cappelen, Herman August, 
299. 

Carl-Johans Gaden, 249. 

Carlyle, Thomas, 224, 289. 

Carriole, 152, 207. 

Cathedrals, 228-232, 306. 

Caton, John Dean, bibliog¬ 
raphy, 314. 

Celibacy, 125. 

Cereals, 83, 165, 187. 

Chamber music, 284. 

Chapman, Abel, bibliography, 
314. 

Charlemagne, 35. 

Charles XIV John, 66-67, 250. 

Charles XV, 68. 

Cherries, 165. 

Cheese, 112, 170, 172. 

Chicago, 23. 

Child labour, 101. 

Choirs, 294. 

Chopin, Frederic, 284, 293. 

Christian I, 57. 

Christian II, 58, 125. 

Christian III, 125. 

Christian IV, 61, 63, 248, 250. 

Christian V, 62. 

Christian VII, 64. 

Christiania, summer day, 10; 
climate, 11; plant life, 14; 
viking ships, 23; university, 
23, 64, 135-137, 305; founda¬ 
tion, 61; social season, 74; 
county, 77; prisons, 78; 
courts, 79; banks, 85; pop¬ 
ulation, 100; art schools, 
138; libraries, 139; news¬ 
papers, 140;' railways, 156; 
industries, 186; commerce, 


189; first bishop, 227; loca¬ 
tion, 247; fires, 248; public 
buildings, 249; control of 
the sale of liquor, 250; win¬ 
ter sports, 256; musical 
union 287; singing clubs, 
294; art gallery, 300; tourist 
bureau, 309. 

Christiania fjord, 17, 254, 299. 

Christian religion, 20, 31, 33, 
35-36, 38, 119, 124, 226. 

Christiansand, 61, 81. 

Christopher of Bavaria, 57. 

Churches, 212-213, See also 
Cathedrals and Temples. 

Cincinnati, 294. 

Clausson, Peder, 149. 

Cleanliness, 94. 

Clergy, 127-128. 

Climate, 10-12, 104. 

Cloudberry, 15. 

Cod-fish, 182. 

Co-education, 133, 136. 

Collet, Camilla, 274. 

Columbus, Christopher, 36. 

Commerce, 187-189. 

Community farms, 177. 

Complexion, 89. 

Confirmation, 128. 

Conifers, 179. 

Consular service, 69-70. 

Continuation schools, 134. 

Cooper, A. Heaton, quoted, 
199; bibliography, 314. 

Copenhagen, 33, 57, 263, 297. 

Copper, 61, 187. 

Cormorant, 14. 

Cornel, 15. 

Costumes. See Dress. 

Cotter’s places, 176. 

County government, 77. 

Couriers, 311. 

Courts of law, 78-79. 

Cows, 166. 

Cremation, 18. 

Crime, 78, 253. 

Crowberry, 15, 




320 


Index 


Crusades, 42, 49. 

Cultivation funds, 175. 

Curtis, William Eleroy, 
quoted, 105, 165, 173, 267; 
bibliography, 314. 

Cyclists, 311. 

D 

Dahl, Johan Christian, 91, 245, 
297. 

Dahl, Sigvald, 300. 

Dairying, 169. 

Dakotas, 173. 

Dalen, 207. 

Dances, 278, 281-282. 

Danes, 87. 

Dano-Norwegian language, 145, 
264. 

Dass, Peder, 263. 

Death-rate, 97 

Debt. See National debt. 

D eer 12 

Denmark, 19, 28, 33, 35, 40, 
52, 53, 65, 67, 100, 125, 131, 
140, 242. 

Dialects, 145. 

Dissenters, 126-127. 

Dogberry, 15. 

Dogs, 113. 

“ Doll’s House ” by Ibsen, 
269. 

Domestic architecture, 307. 
Dorchester, 22. 

Dorsten, 21. 

Dovrefjeld, 2, 3, 10, 11, 43, 
205. 

Drammen, 9^, 189, 248. 

Dress, 109, 194, 198, 206, 207, 
215. 

Dresden, 297. 

Drobak, 136, 256. 

Drowned valleys, 190. 

Dublin, 22. 

Du Chaillu, Paul B., bibliog¬ 
raphy, 314. 

Diisseldorf, 298. 


E 

Eagles, 13. 

Eckersberg, Johan Frederick, 
245, 299. 

Eddas, 116. 

Edible berries, 15. 

Education, 131-150, 176. 
Edward I, King of England, 
50. 

Edward VII, King of England, 
73. 

Eid fjord, 195. 

Eide, 195. 

Eider ducks, 14, 161. 

Eidsvold constitution, 66, 126, 
139, 140, 265. 

Elbe river, 294. 

Elementary schools, 132-134. 
Elk, 12. 

Elling, Catherinus, 285. 
Emigration, 99, 173. 

Endemic diseases, 97. 

Ender, Axel, 203, 305. 
England, 19, 22, 28, 30, 3?., 35, 
40, 65, 84, 90, 223, 228, 2A>, 
242. See also Great Brit¬ 
ain. 

English language, 87, 93. 
English Cyclists’ Touring Club, 
311. 

Entails, 177. 

Epidemic diseases, 97. 

Eric Haakonsson, 36-38, 

221 . 

Eric of Pomerania, 54. 

Eric the Blood-Axe, 31. 

Eric the Priest-Hater, 50. 
Eskimos, 108. 

Espelandsfos, 195. 

Esthonia, 34. 

Ethelred, King of England, 
35. 

Ethnic stock, 87-88. 
Expenditures, 81. 

Exports, 188. 

Eyestein, 42. 





Index 


321 


F 

Factory laws, 101. 

Fagernses, 156, 214. 

Falcons, 13. 

Falk, Hjalmar, 144, 147. 
Falkoping, 54. 

Fall River, Mass., 37. 

Farm life, 163-177. 
Farmsteads, 167-170, 172, 197. 
Faroe islands, 22, 30, 46. 
Fearnley, Thomas, 246, 297. 
Femsjoen lake, 159. 

Feudal system, 21, 90. 
Fillefjeld, 3, 154, 212. 

Finck, Henry T., quoted, 285, 
290. 

Fines, 78. 

Finland, 65, 107, 114, 131, 136. 
253. 

Finmark, 6, 13, 62, 105, 113, 
164, 178, 181, 301, 312. 
Finneloft, 209, 307. 

Finns, 109, 114. 

Fir trees, 179. 

Fischer, Karl, quoted, 142,143. 
Fish, 171, 240. 

Fisheries, 181-185. 
Fishing-boats, 184. 

Fish-market at Bergen, 243- 
244. 

Fjeldberg, 11. 

Fjeldheim, 215, 307. 

Fjelds, 205-219. See also 
Mountains. 

Fjone, 29. 

Fjords, nature, 1; described 
by Froude, 159; of the west- 
coast, 190-204; depth, 191; 
Hardanger, 193; Eid, 195; 
Sor, 195; Sogne, 195-197; 
Naero, 196-197; Nord, 197; 
Geiranger, 199; Stor, 199; 
Norangs, 201; Molde, 202; 
Trondhjem, 203; Byglands, 
206; Strande, 215; Chris¬ 
tiania, 254. 


Fjord boats, 157. 

Fjord steamer yachts, 158. 
Fladbrod, 172. 

Flanders, 19. 

Flateland, 207. 

Fleischer’s Hotel, 209. 
Flekkefjord, 157. 

Flemish, 157. 

Flowers, 14-15. 

Folden fjord, 8. 

Folgefonde, 6. 

Folk-music, 278-295. 
Folk-songs, 279. 

Fondalen, 5. 

Fontenelle, 21. 

Food, 171, 187, 311. 

Foreign loans, 84. 

Forests, 178-181. 

Fortresses, 249. 

Foxes, 12, 13. 

Foxglove, 15. 

France, 19, 21, 30, 31, 35, 84, 
183, 302, 306. 

Franklin, Sir John, 104. 
Frederick I, 59, 125. 

Frederick II, 61. 

Frederick III, 61-62. 

Frederick IV, 62-63. 

Frederick V, 63. 

Frederick VIII, King of Den¬ 
mark, 73. 

Fredrikshald, 159. 

Fredrikstad, 189. 

Free-trade policies, 83. 

Frey, 29, 120. 

Freydunlund, 215. 

Frich, J. C. G., 245, 287. 
Friesland, 240. 

Frithjof’s saga, 255. 

Froude, James Anthony, 159. 
Fruits, 164. 

Funerals, 130. 

G 

Gadfly, 112. 

Galdhopig, 2. 

Game laws, 13. 







322 


Index 


Garborg, Arne, 91, 144, 274. 

Gauls, 20. 

Gausdalsfos, 199. 

Geiranger fjord, 154, 199-202. 

Genre pictures, 298. 

Gentians, 15. 

Geography of Scandinavia, 1- 
15. 

George I, King of Greece, 73. 

Germany, 4, 21, 33, 49, 63, 84, 
87, 124, 183. 

Giacial lakes, 198. 

Glaciers, 3-6, 198. 

Glittertind, 2. 

Gloersen, Jacob, 303. 

Glutton, 12. 

Gnomes, 203. 

Godfrey the Hunter, 30. 

Gokstad ship, 23-25. 

Gol, 255. 

Goodman, E. J., bibliography, 
314. 

Gooseberries, 165. 

Gorbitz, Johan, 245, 298. 

Goteborg system, 250. 

Gothic architecture, 228. 

Government of Norway, 74-78. 

Grammar, 261. 

Granite, 187. 

Grass, 165. 

Graven fjord, 195. 

Grave-ships, 23-27. 

Grazing lands, 163. 

Great Britain, 19, 189. See 
also England. 

Greece, 35, 121. 

Greenland, 4, 36, 184, 227, 
239. 

Grieg, Edvard, Ole Bull’s es¬ 
timate, 282; place in the 
history of music, 285; pa¬ 
rentage, 286; musical edu¬ 
cation, 287; national music, 
288; Finck’s estimate, 290; 
genre pieces, 291; orches¬ 
tral compositions, 292; mu¬ 
sical union, 295: portrait by 


Nielsen, 300; by Peterssen, 
301. 

Groceries, 188. 

Grondahl, Agatha. See 
Backer-Grondahl. 

Grondahl, O. A.. 295. 

Grotlid, 201. 

Grouse, 13. 

Grimstad, 11. 

Gudbransdal, 88, 156, 187, 201, 
206, 218-219, 307. 

Gude, Hans, 245, 255, 299. 
Gudvangen, 154, 209 
Guide-books, 309. 

Gula river, 52. 

Gulbranson, Ellen, 294. 

Gulf Stream, 11, 162. 

Gulsvik, 157. 

Gunhild, 33. 

Gustav, Prince of Denmark, 
73. 

Guthorm Sigurdsson, 48. 

H 

Haakon, Earl, 33-34. 

Haakon Haakonsson, 49, 228, 
236, 238. 

Haakon Sigurdsson, 45. 

Haakon Sverresson, 48. 

Haakon the Broad-Shoulders. 

See Haakon Sigurdsson. 
Haakon the Good, 31-33, 119. 
Haakon the Long-Legs, 51, 
229. 

Haakon VII 73-74. 

“ Haakon VII.” steamer, 159. 
Haakon’s Hall, 236, 244. 

Hseg, 213. 

Hale, William Barton, xi. 

Half dan the Swarthy, 30. 
Halfdan the White-Leg, 29. 
Hallingdal, 205, 208, 255, 312. 
Hallings, 279. 

Halvorsen, Johan, 295. 

Hamar, 61, 98, 156, 181, 227, 
306. 






Index 323 


Hamburg, 226. 

Hammerfest, 8, 106, 140. 
Handicrafts, 137, 185, 236. 
Hanko, 255. 

Hanseatic league, 50, 58, 59, 
237-241, 247, 262. 

Hanslick, Eduard, 292. 

Harald Gille, 43, 236. 

Harald Greyfell, 32-33. 

Harald Gronske, 222. 

Harald, Prince of Denmark, 
73. 

Harald the Fair-Haired, 28, 
30, 31, 222. 

Harald the Hard-Ruler, 40, 
247. 

Hardanger fjeld, 3. 

Hardanger fjord, 7, 186, 193- 
195, 299, 300, 312. 

Hauge, Hans Nielsen, 126-127. 
Haugefos, 302. 

Haugianere, 126-127, 298. 
Haugland, Baard, 91. 
Haukelfjeld, 154, 207. 
Haymaking, 165-166. 
Head-dresses, 194. 
Heathenism, 115. 

Hebrews, 93, 115, 126. 
Hebrides islands, 22, 30, 42, 58, 
227. 

“ Hedda Gabler ” by Ibsen, 
979 

Heen7215. 

Heilberg, Gunnar, 276. 
Heimdall, 120. 

Hekla, eruption of, 52. 

Hell, 157. 

Hellesyet, 200. 

Hennum, Johan, 295. 
Hepaticas, 15. 

Hereditary aristocracy, 90. 
Herjedalen, 61. 

Hero-worship, 122. 

Herring, 183. 

Hervey, Hetta M., bibliog¬ 
raphy, 314. 

Heyerdahl, Hans, 301. 


Highways, 151-154, 201, 209- 
211, 311. 

Hill-sliding, 258. 

History of Norway, 16-86. 
Hitterdal, 307. 

Hitterdal lake, 159. 

Hjelm. See Winter-Iljelm. 
Hladir, 122. 

Holberg, Ludvig, 244, 263, 
292. 

Holen, 227. 

Holidays, 101, 126. 

Holland, 240. 

Holmboe, Thorolf, 304. 
Iiolmenkollen, 256, 303. 

Holier, Ivar, 295. 

Holstein, 57, 59. 

Holy Land, 44, 49. 

Holy Roman Empire, 28. 
Honesty, 92. 

Honeysuckle, 15. 

Horgheim, 217. 

Horses, 153-154, 167. 

Horten, 137. 

Horticulture, 165. 

Hotels, 311. 

Houses, 167, 209. 

Hungary, 99. 

Husum, 212. 

Hvalo, 8. 

I 

Ibsen, Henrik, journalistic la¬ 
bours, 140; as a reformer, 
268; his art, 269; “Brand,” 
270; “Peer Gynt,” 271; 
psychological problems, 272; 
critical estimate, 273; Grieg’s 
music and Ibsen, 293; por¬ 
trait by Werenskiold, 302; 
statue by Sinding, 305. 
Ice-field, 155, 198. See also 
Glaciers. 

Iceland, 30, 122, 227. 

Icelanders, 87. 

Ice-pegging, 258. 

Ildhaus, 167. 






324 


Index 


Illegitimacy, 95. 

Imports, 187. 

Incest, 78, 95. 

Income tax, 82. 

Indus river, 218. 

Industrial arts, 18, 243. 
Industries, 185-187. 
Infanticide, 95. 

Inge Baardsson, 49. 

Ingjold, 29. 

Insurance, 102. 

Intelligence party, 142. 

Iowa, 173. 

“ Irma ” steamer, 159. 
Ireland, 22, 30, 42, 99. 

Iron, 186. 

Iron age, 18. 

Islands, 7-9, 157. 

Italy, 30, 31, 297. 

J 

Jacobsen, Carl Ludwig, 250. 
Janson, Kristofer, 274. 

James I, King of England, 
247. 

James III, King of Scotland, 
58. 

Jan Mayen, 184, 

Jemtland, 61. 

Jesuits, 126. 

Jews. See Hebrews. 
Jordalsnut, 210. 

Jorgensen, Svend, 303. 
Jostedal, 5. 

Jostedalsbrse, 5, 198, 297. 
Jotunheim, 2, 117, 199, 215. 
Jotuns, 203. 

Journals. See Newspapers. 
Judiciary, 78. 

Jungman, Nico, bibliography, 
314. 

K 

Kaldafjeld, 210. 

Kalmar union, 49, 55-56, 58, 
260. 


Karelians, 58. 

Karlstad, 72. 

Keary, Charles Francis, bibli¬ 
ography, 314. 

Khalsi, 218. 

Kiel, treaty of, 65. 

Kielland, Alexander, 273, 276. 
Kilefos, 210. 

Kindness to animals, 153. 
Kingsley, Charles, 165. 
Kittiwake, 14. 

Kjendalsbrse, 198. 

Kjerulf, Halfdan, 283. 

Kjolen mountains, 2. 

Knudsen, K., 147. 

Knutzen, Martin, 294. 
Kongsberg, 61, 98, 186, 248. 
Kragero, 302. 

Krohg, Christian, 302. 

Krone, 85, 312. 

Kullak, Theodore, 285. 

Kvalo, 8. 

L 

Labour laws, 101. 

Labrofos, 297. 

Ladak, 218. 

Laera river, 212. 

Lserdalsoren, 12, 154, 212. 
Lagthing, 76. 

Lakes, 198, 204, 215, 216. 
Landed property, 164. 
Landsmaal, 144. 

Landstorm, 80. 

Landvern, 80. 

Land-tenure, 30. 

Langeleik, 280. 

Langfjeld, 2, 3, 178, 205 
Language, 144. 260. 

Lapland, 12, 107. 

Lapps, Danish extortion of, 
63; pasture rights, 71; eth¬ 
nic stock, 108; manner of 
dress, 109; groups, 110; 
occupations, 111; summer 
pastures, 214; use of the 
ski, 257. 





Index 


325 


Larkspur, 15. 

Latin races, 92. 

Laws of Norway, 77. 

Leather, 186. 

Leif, son of Eric the Red, 36. 
Leipzig, 287. 

Lemmings, 13. 

Lemstrom, 107. 

Leprosy, 98, 246. 

Lesjkogen lake, 216. 

Libraries, 139. 

Lie, Jonas, 144, 273-275. 
Lillehammer, 156. 

Lindesnaes, 11, 68. 

Lindmann, L. M., 280. 

“ Liquor plague,” 251. 

Liquor traffic, 83, 250. 

Liszt, Franz, 282, 285, 293. 
Literacy, 131. 

Literature, 260-277. 

Loan funds, 174. 

Locks, 160. 

Loen, 133, 172, 198, 313. 
Loendal, 198. 

Loenvand,198. 

Lofoten islands, 7, 8-9, 182, 
203, 301. 

Log-floating, 180. 

Loire river, 21. 

Loke, 120. 

London, 237. 

Lorn, 154. 

Lotefos, 195. 

Louis IX, King of France, 49. 
Loveid, 160. 

Liibeck, 238. 

Lur, 280. 

Luther, Martin, 59, 115, 124. 
Lutheran religion, 124-130, 
131, 263. 

Lungstuen, 8. 

Lynx, 12. 

M 

MacDowell, Edward, 291, 293. 
Mackerel, 183. 


MacFall, Haldane, 269. 
Magero, 7, 106. 

Magnus Ericsson, 51, 239. 
Magnus Erlingsson, 45. 
Magnus Olafsson, 39. 

Magnus the Bare-Leg, 41. 
Magnus the Blind, 43. 

Magnus the Good, 39. 

Magnus the Law-Mender, 49- 
50, 235. 

Magpies, 13. 

Malt, 83. 

Man, Isle of, 50, 237. 

Margaret of Denmark, 54, 56. 
Margaret of Scotland, 50. 
Margerine, 188. 

Marine algae, 7. 

Maristuen, 214. 

Marok, 199, 201. 
Massachusetts, 37, 

Maud, Queen of Norway, 74. 
Mauranger, 6. 

Maxwell, Herbert, quoted, 218. 
Meadows, 163. 

Mediterranean sea, 242. 
Methodists, 116, 126. 

Meyer, Johan, 307. 

Michelsen, Hans, 305. 

Midgard, 117. 

Midnight sun, 9, 105. 

Midwives, 97. 

Military training, 79. 

Milk, 167, 188. 

Mineral products, 186-187. 
Minnesota, 173, 

Mjosen lake, 156. 

Modum, 302. 

Moe, Jorgen, 91, 147. 
Mohammedans, 93. 

Molde, 202, 305. 

Molde fjord, 202-203. 

Moliere, 263. 

Monasteries, 232, 235. 
Monetary system, 85, 312. 
Mongolian race, 109. 

Moraines, 7. 

Mortenson, Ivar, 274 






326 


Index 


Mortgages, 175. 

Mosquitos, 214. 

Moss, 248. 

Mountain dairy. See Sseter. 
Mountain Lapps, 110. 
Mountain ranges, 2. 

Mountain valleys, 205-219. 
Mozart, Wolfgang, 287. 

Muller, Morten, 299. 

Municipal taxes, 85. 

Munk, Edvard, 47, 143, 302. 
Munkholm, 232. 

Munthe, Gerhard, 303 
Munthe, Ludwig, 300. 

Murdog, King of Ireland, 42. 
Music, 278-295. 

Musical festivals, 294. 

Musical instruments, 280. 
Musical unions, 295. 
Mythology, 116, 300. 

N 

Naerodal, 197, 210-212. 

N®ro fjord, 12, 47, 196-197, 
210. 

Names of people, 172. 
Nannestad, 140. 

Nansen, Fridtjof, 71, 138, 140, 
274, 302. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, 64, 65. 
Narvik, 157. 

National debt, 84. 

National gallery, 249. 

National museum, 255. 
National parliament, 75-76. 
Naturalism in art, 201. 

Navy, 81. 

Naze, 2. 

Netherlands, 189. See also 
Holland. 

Neupert, Edvard, 294. 

Neupert, Karl F. E., 284. 
Newfoundland, 242. 
New-Norwegian, 147. 
Newspapers, 139-145. 


Nicholas II, Czar of Russia, 73. 

Nielsen, Amaldus, 300. 

Niffleheim, 117. 

Nilsen, Sivert, 91. 

Njord, 120. 

Norangsdal, 201. 

Norangs fjord, 197-199, 201. 

Nord fjord, 3, 13. 

Nordland, 178, 181, 186, 240, 
263. 

Nordland boat, 184. 

Nordraak, Richard, 283. 

Nordsjo lake, 160. 

Normandy, 19, 20. 

Norse gods, 118-122. 

Norse letters, 260-277. 

North America, 274. See also 
United States. 

North Cape, 8, 10, 68, 105-106, 
157, 232. 

Northern lights, See Aurora 
borealis. 

North Pole, 106. 

North sea, 21, 242. 

Northumberland, 22. 

Norway, geography, 1-15; his¬ 
tory, 16-86; people, 87-114; 
religions, 115-130; educa¬ 
tion, 131-150; highways, 
151-155; railways, 155-158; 
waterways, 158-162; agri¬ 
culture, 163-177; forests, 
178-181; fisheries, 181-185; 
commerce, 185-189; fjords, 
190-204; mountains, 205- 
219; chief cities, 220-259; 
literature, 260-277; music, 
278-295; art, 296-308. 

Norwegians, origin, 87; phys¬ 
ical type, 88; mental traits, 
89; habits, 90; humble life, 
91; humane instinct, 92; 
travel interests, 93; do¬ 
mestic habits, 94; sexual mo¬ 
rality, 95; industry, 96; 
sanitation, 97; emigration, 
99. 





Index 


327 


“ Nose tax,” 30. 

Novaya Zembla, 184. 
Novgorod, 237. 

Numedal, 205, 307. 

Nymegan, 22. 

Nystuen, 214. 

O 

Oats, 164. 

Occupations, 172. 

Odde, 6, 154, 194, 207. 
Odelsthing, 76. 

Odin, 19, 20, 36, 117, 118-119, 
280. 

Ofoten, 157. 

Oie, 201. 

Olaf Haraldsson. See Olaf 
the Saint. 

Olaf Magnusson, 42. 

Olaf, Prince of Norway, 74. 
Olaf the Quiet, 41, 235, 250. 
Olaf the Saint, 38-39, 45, 120, 
122, 221-226, 231. 

Olaf the Thick-Set. See Olaf 
the Saint. 

Olaf Trygvesson, 34-35, 122, 

221 . 

Olaf the Young, 52. 

Olden vand, 198. 

Olsen, Ole, 295. 

Oratorios, 285. 

Oratunturi, Mount, 107. 
Orchids, 15. 

Ore, 85, 312. 

Orkney islands, 22, 30, 42, 44, 
49, 58, 227. 

Ormeim, 217. 

Oscar I, 67-68. 

Oscar II, 68-69, 70, 106, 171. 
Oscarsborg, 81. 

Oscarshall, 255, 298. 

Oseberg ship, 23, 26-27, 304. 
Oselio - Bj ornson, Ingeborg, 
294. 

Oslo. See Christiania. 
Ospreys, 13. 


Osterdal, 88. 

Otta, 156. 

Otteraa river, 206. 
Out-kitchens, 168. 

P 

Paderewski, Ignace, 293. 
Painting, 296-304. 

Paganism, 36. 

Paper manufacture, 179. 

Paris, 21. 

Pauperism, 95-96. 

Pears, 165. 

Peasants, 91, 142, 173. 
Pedersson, Gjeble, 60. 

“ Peer Gynt ” by Ibsen, 269' 
272. 

Pension funds, 102. 

People. See Lapps and Nor¬ 
wegians. 

People’s high schools, 134. 
Peterssen, Elif, 301. 

Phallic worship, 122. 

Philip III, King of France, 
235. 

Physicians, 96. 

Pine trees, 181. 

Plant life, 14-15. 

Plastic arts. See Sculpture. 
Plover, 13. 

Polar regions, 104-114. 

Pope Adrian IV, 227. 

Pope Alexander IV, 49. 

Pope Eugene III, 226. 
Population of Norway, 98. 
Porphyry, 187. 

Porsanger fjord, 203. 
Porsgrund, 137, 189. 

Posting system, 152, 157. 
Postal service, 160. 

Poverty, 95. 

Press. See Newspapers. 

Press censorship, 140. 

Prisons, 78. 

Profanity, 95. 

Prostitution, 95. 




328 


Index 


Protectionist movement, 83. 
Protestant reformation, 59, 
124-125, 131, 231, 263, 306. 
Protestant religion, 60. 

Prydz, Alvide, 273. 
Ptarmigan, 13. 

Public libraries. See Libra¬ 
ries. 

Puffin, 14. 

Punishments, 77. 

Puritanism, 63. 

Q 

Quakers, 116. 

Quarries, 186. 

R 

Railroads. See Railways. 
Railways, 82, 155-157, 208- 

209, 214, 312. 

Rainfall, 11-12, 105, 235. 
Rape, 78, 95. 

Raspberries, 15, 165. 

Rauma river, 216. 
Reformation. See Protestant 
reformation. 

Reindeer, 12, 110-114, 214, 312. 
Reinlid, 307. 

Reissiger, F. A., 295. 

Religions in Norway, 115-130. 
Revenues, 81. 

Reviews. See Newspapers. 
Rhine river, 20. 

Road-building, 154. 

Roads. See Highways. 

Rock drawings, 17. 

Rodal, 11, 154, 207. 

Rodents, 13. 

Rollo, 20. 

Roman Catholic religion, 60, 
116, 125. 

Rome, 44, 222. 

Romsdal, 182, 203, 206, 216- 
218, 312. 

Romsdalshorn, 218. 


Root plants, 165. 

Roros, 61, 186. 

Rosenkranz tower, 244. 

“ Rosmersholm ” by Ibsen, 
272. 

Rouen, 21. 

Runic inscriptions, 18, 27, 118, 
213. 

Rural schools, 133. 

Russia, 28, 34, 35, 63, 65, 183, 
189. 

Russians, 57. 

Ruskin, John, 192. 

Rye, 164, 188. 

S 

Sacrifices, 123. 

Saeter, 167, 169-171. 

Saetersdal, 206-207, 299. 

Sagas, 29, 40, 244. 

St. Petersburg, 247. 

Salmon, 183. 

Samoyedes, 108. 

Sandefjord, 23. 

Sanitation, 97. 

Sars, Ernst, 19. 

Savings banks, 85. 

Saw-mills, 180, 186. 

Saxifrage, 15. 

Scalds, 40, 119, 223, 262. 
School boards, 132. 

School districts, 132. 

School studies, 133. 

Schools. See Education. 
Schubert, Franz, 291, 293. 
Schumann, Robert, 293. 
Schwergaard, A. M., 143. 
Scotland, 22, 35, 50. 

Sculpture, 304-306. 

Sea-birds, 13-14, 161. 

Seals, 184. 

Sea-Lapps, 110. 

Secondary schools, 135. 
Seiland, 8. 

Seine river, 21. 

Seljestad, 207. 





Index 


329 


Selmer, Johan, 284, 295. 

“ Seven Sisters ” waterfall, 

199. 

Sexual morality, 95. 

Sharks, 184. 

Shetland islands, 30, 50, 227. 
Ship-building, 186. 

Siberia, 104. 

Sicily, 19. 

Sick-clubs, 102. 

Sidon, 42. 

Sigurd Mund, 236. 

Sigurd the Bad-Priest, 44. 
Sigurd the Crusader, 42. 

Silver, 61, 186, 248. 

Simeon of Durham, quoted, 22. 
Sinding, Christian, 284. 
Sinding, Otto, 245, 300. 
Sinding, Stephen, 245, 250, 
305. 

Sivlefos, 210. 

Skaala mountain, 198. 
Skaalholt, 227. 

Skaggeflaa, 200. 

Skagen, 302. 

Skalds. See Scalds. 

Skarsfos, 195. 

Skeibrok, Matthias, 91, 305. 
Ski, 185, 257. 

Ski-jumping, 256. 

Ski-sailing, 257. 

Skien, 160, 189, 207. 
Skien-Nordsjo-Bandak canal, 
159, 207. 

Skjsergaard, 157. 

Skogstad, 214. 

Skram, Amalie, 274. 

Skredsvig, Christian, 91, 203. 
Skellerud lake, 159. 

Sledges, 152. 

Sleswick, 21, 56, 57. 

Slettafos, 217. 

Slogen, 201. 

Smaalenen, 23. 

Smolensk, 257. 

Snorre Sturlasson, 32, 222. 
Snow-plough, 155. 


Snow-shoe. See Ski. 
Soapstone, 186. 

Sogne fjord, 6, 7, 12, 195-197, 
212, 307. 

Soot, Eyolf, 303. 

Sor fjord, 195. 

Soro, 8. 

Sorum, 212, 215. 

Spirillen lake, 215. 
Spitzbergen, 13, 184. 

Sports, 256, 312. 

Spree river, 294. 

Springfield, Mass., xi, 294. 
Spruce trees, 179, 181. 

Stature of the Norwegians, 88. 
Stav-churches, See Timber 

pnnrpnpR 

Stavanger, *7, 9, 98, 157, 183, 
189, 227, 306, 310. 

Stalheim, 92, 154, 210. 
Stalheimsfos, 210. 

Stanford Bridge, 40. 
Steamboats, 158. 

Steamer yacht “ Haakon VII,” 
159. 

Steganasse, 197. 

Stimson, George W., xi. 
Stabur, 167. 

Stockholm, 156, 233. 
Stolkjserre, 152, 207. 

Stone, 186. 

Stone age, 16-17. 

Stone, Olivia M., quoted, 210, 
216; bibliography, 315. 
Store-house, 168. 

Stor fjord, 199. 

Storm, Halfdan, 303. 
Storthing. See National Par* 
liament. 

Strande fjord, 215. 

Strauss, Richard, 293. 
Strawberries, 15. 

Stryndal, 198. 

Stryns vand, 198. 

Stufloten, 216. 

Styve, 197. 

Sugar, 188. 






330 


Index 


Suldals vand, 207. 

Sulitelma, 2. 

Sunday worship, 129. 

Sunnan, 157. 

Suppehelle glacier, 5. 

Summer light, 9. 

Svend Alfifasson, 39. 

Svend Haakonsson, 36/38, 221. 
Svendsen, Johan S., 91, 284, 
287, 295. 

Svenssen, Olaf, 294. 

Sverre Sigurdsson, 46. 

Sweden, 1, 34, 51, 56, 62, 67, 
70, 131, 141, 183, 189. 
Swedes, 87, 247. 

Swedish language, 147. 

Swiss, 93. 

Switzerland, 79, 160, 297. 
Syenite, 187. 

Symphonies, 284, 295. 

T 

Tandberg, G., quoted, 176. 
Tariff rates, 83. 

Tauranian race, 108. 

Taxes, 82. 

Taylor, Bayard, quoted, 107, 
192; bibliography, 315. 
Technical education, 137-139. 
Teachers, 133-134. 

Telegraph service, 68, 84, 160, 
312. 

Telemarken, 156, 186, 195, 205, 
207-208, 255, 280, 297, 299, 
302 307. 

Telephone service, 160, 312. 
Temples, 122, 306. See also 
Cathedrals. 

Teutonic race, 87, 94. 
Thaulow, Fritz, 245, 302. 
Thellefsen, Thomas, 284, 294. 
Thiis, Jens, 298, 302. 

Thirty Years’ War, 61, 241. 
Thommessen, O., 91. 

Thor, 19, 20, 36, 38, 119-120, 
280. 


Thoreau, Henry D., 200. 

Thoresen, Magdelena, 274. 

Thrift, 174. 

Thune, 23. 

Tidemand, 245, 255, 298. 

Timber, 180-181. 

Timber churches, 255, 306. 

Tobacco, 188. 

Tobacco-chewing, 94. 

Tobogganing, 258. 

Tordenskjold, P., 305. 

Tonsassen, 11. 

Tonsberg, 81. 

Touring Club de France, 31" 

Tourist bureaus, 309. 

Tours (France), 21. 

Trade. See Commerce. 

Trade guilds, 235. 

Tramps, 96. 

Trees. See Forestry. 

Trold fjord, 203. 

Troldtinder, 203, 218. 

Trold vand, 203. 

Tromso, 8, 10, 98, 178, 181, 
182. 

Trondhjem, captured by the 
Swedes, 61; foundation of 
Academy of Science, 63; 
prisons, 78; midnight sun 
106; technical schools, 137; 
Philosophical Society, 138; 
newspapers, 140; railways, 
156; forests, 178; fisheries, 
183; commerce, 189; loca¬ 
tion, 220; residence of Olai 
the Saint, 222; cathedral, 
226; headquarters of the 
archbishop, 227; fires, 230; 
Protestant reformation, 231; 
streets, 232; tourist bu¬ 
reaus, 310. 

Trondhjem fjord, 2, 17, 29, 98, 
203. 

Tuberculosis, 98. 

Tunnels, 155. 

Tvedt, Jens, 261. 

Tvinde, 209. 





Index 


Ty, the Norse god, 120. 

Tyler, Katherine M., bibliog- 
graphy, 315. 

U 

Ulfsten, Nicolai, 303. 

Undset, Ingvald, 25. 
Unitarianism, 294. 

United States, 78, 88, 92, 97, 
135, 160, 166, 173, 176, 189, 
237. See also America and 
North America. 

Universal suffrage, 136, 253. 
University of Christiania, 64, 
135-137, 305. 

V 

Vaermofos, 217. 

Vagrancy, 96. 

Valdemar, Duke, 57. 

Valders, 11, 52, 157, 187, 206, 
208,212-217,307. 

Valhalla, 117, 118. 

Valkyries, 118. 

Valleys. See Mountain val¬ 
leys. 

Vand. See Lakes.. 

Vanirs, 202. 

Varno, 8. 

Ve, 117. 

Veblungsnaes, 202, 217. 
Vegetables, 165, 171. 
Vengetinder, 218. 

Venice, 237. 

Veranger fjord, 2, 203. 
Vesteraadal, 202. 

Vest fjord, 8, 203. 

Vestfold, 29. 

Videdal, 198. 

Vik, 307. 

Viken, 62. 

Viking age, viii, 16-27, 196. 
Viking-ships, 23-27, 304. 
Vikings, 223. 


331 


Vili, 117. 

Vincent, Frank, quoted, 94; 

bibliography, 315. 

Vineland, 37-38. 

Vinje, Aasmund, 91. 

Violin, 280, 284. 

Visnaes, 198. 

Voringsfos, 195. 

Vossevangen, 11, 92, 181, 187, 
208, 209, 307. 

Vrangfos, 160, 207. 

W 

Wagner, Richard, 293. 
Wagons, 152. See also/ Car¬ 
rioles and Stolkjaerre. 
Wagtails, 13. 

Walking tours, 311. 
Waterfalls, 160, 191, 194, 199- 
200, 210, 217. 

Water traffic, 157. 

Welhaven, Johan, 143, 245, 
264. 

Wentzel, Gustav, 303. 

Weber, Karl, 287. 
Werenskiold, Erik, 302. 
Wergeland, Henrik, 142, 147, 
193, 249, 365. 

Whales, 184. 

Whortelberry, 15. 

William II, Emperor of Ger¬ 
many, 106. 

William of Orange, 47. 

Winge, Per, 245. 

Winter darkness, 10. 
Winter-Hjelm, Otto, 284. 
Winter sports, 256-259, 310. 
Wisconsin, 173. 

Women, 101, 109, 136, 165, 
198, 206. 

Women’s suffrage. See Uni¬ 
versal suffrage. 
Wood-carving, 172, 304. 
Woodlands, 178. 

Wood-pulp, 188. 








332 


Index 


Wood, Charles M., bibliog¬ 
raphy, 315. 

Worcester, Mass., 294. 
Work-houses, 96. 

Wotans, 119. 

Wyllie, M. A., bibliography, 
315. 


Y 

Yellow-hammers, 13. 
Ymir, 116, 117. 
Yosemite Valley, 218. 
York, 237. 




































